Geode Capital Management LLC Purchases 17,921 Shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT)

Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) by 1.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,844,713 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 17,921 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Veracyte were worth $62,806,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 2,331.6% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,386 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 1,329 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in Veracyte in the 2nd quarter worth $58,000. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in Veracyte in the second quarter worth $85,000. Castleview Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Veracyte during the third quarter valued at about $87,000. Finally, Values First Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Veracyte during the third quarter valued at about $91,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Veracyte from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Guggenheim initiated coverage on Veracyte in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $40.00 price objective for the company. Leerink Partners lifted their target price on shares of Veracyte from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $37.00 price target (down previously from $38.00) on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $41.13.

Veracyte Trading Up 4.7 %

Shares of Veracyte stock opened at $40.89 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $38.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.24. Veracyte, Inc. has a 12-month low of $18.61 and a 12-month high of $46.00. The company has a market cap of $3.17 billion, a P/E ratio of -272.60 and a beta of 1.69.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.03 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $115.86 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.81 million. Veracyte had a negative net margin of 2.18% and a positive return on equity of 3.02%. Veracyte’s revenue was up 28.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.03) earnings per share. Analysts predict that Veracyte, Inc. will post 0.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Veracyte

In other news, insider John Leite sold 1,050 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.25, for a total transaction of $45,412.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 73,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,192,282.50. The trade was a 1.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Jonathan Wygant sold 5,032 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.89, for a total transaction of $215,822.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 42,313 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,814,804.57. The trade was a 10.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 14,038 shares of company stock valued at $605,297. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Veracyte Company Profile

Veracyte, Inc engages in the research, development and commercialization of diagnostic products. The firm’s portfolio includes Afirma, Percepta, and Envisia. It intends to treat thyroid cancer, improve lung cancer screening, and clarify the diagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. The company was founded by Bonnie H.