Inspire Investing LLC Trims Position in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT)

Inspire Investing LLC decreased its stake in shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) by 16.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,085 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 1,997 shares during the quarter. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in Veracyte were worth $399,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Castleview Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Veracyte in the third quarter valued at approximately $87,000. Values First Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Veracyte during the 3rd quarter worth about $91,000. KBC Group NV increased its position in Veracyte by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,677 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Veracyte in the 2nd quarter valued at about $58,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 21.7% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,778 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 496 shares in the last quarter.

Veracyte Stock Performance

Shares of VCYT stock opened at $42.93 on Tuesday. Veracyte, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $18.61 and a fifty-two week high of $46.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.33 billion, a PE ratio of -286.20 and a beta of 1.71. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $41.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.85.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Karin Eastham sold 10,000 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.30, for a total transaction of $403,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,497 shares in the company, valued at approximately $745,429.10. This trade represents a 35.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Leite sold 1,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.25, for a total value of $45,412.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 73,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,192,282.50. This represents a 1.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 24,038 shares of company stock valued at $1,008,297 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on VCYT. UBS Group upped their target price on Veracyte from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Guggenheim assumed coverage on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $40.00 target price for the company. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Veracyte from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on Veracyte from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Veracyte from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $41.13.

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.