Erste Asset Management GmbH Acquires Shares of 17,000 Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT)

Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 17,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $574,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Veracyte by 2,331.6% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,386 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 1,329 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 168.3% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,516 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 951 shares during the period. Castleview Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Veracyte during the third quarter worth approximately $87,000. Values First Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Veracyte during the third quarter worth approximately $91,000. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 13.7% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,677 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the period.

Insider Transactions at Veracyte

In other news, CAO Jonathan Wygant sold 956 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.36, for a total value of $41,452.16. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 40,270 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,746,107.20. This trade represents a 2.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Evan/ Fa Jones sold 5,173 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.23, for a total transaction of $182,244.79. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 34,343 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,209,903.89. The trade was a 13.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 19,211 shares of company stock worth $787,542. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Veracyte Stock Up 1.0 %

NASDAQ:VCYT opened at $44.09 on Thursday. Veracyte, Inc. has a 12 month low of $18.61 and a 12 month high of $44.50. The firm has a market cap of $3.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -293.93 and a beta of 1.69. The company’s 50 day moving average is $36.31 and its 200-day moving average is $29.47.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $109.81 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.03) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 28.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Veracyte, Inc. will post 0.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on VCYT. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Veracyte in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. Scotiabank raised 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. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. UBS Group raised 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. Finally, Guggenheim started coverage on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $40.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Veracyte presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $41.25.

About Veracyte

Veracyte, Inc operates as a diagnostics company in the United States and internationally. The company offers Afirma Genomic Sequencing Classifier for cancerous thyroid nodules; Decipher Prostate Biopsy and Radical Prostatectomy for prostate cancer diagnosis; Prosigna Breast Cancer Assay for breast cancer diagnosis; Percepta Nasal Swab Test for lung cancer diagnosis; and Envisia Genomic Classifier for diagnosing interstitial lung disease, including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.