Franklin Resources Inc. Reduces Holdings in Veracyte, Inc. $VCYT

Franklin Resources Inc. reduced its stake in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) by 4.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 206,204 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 10,452 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.26% of Veracyte worth $5,574,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its position in Veracyte by 1,279.9% during the 2nd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 8,031 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $217,000 after buying an additional 7,449 shares during the period. Strs Ohio bought a new position in shares of Veracyte during the first quarter valued at about $848,000. Voya Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Veracyte by 79.7% during the first quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 41,452 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,229,000 after acquiring an additional 18,386 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 70.1% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 830,099 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $22,438,000 after purchasing an additional 342,038 shares during the period. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its stake in shares of Veracyte by 25.1% in the second quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 115,041 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,110,000 after purchasing an additional 23,047 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider John Leite sold 2,808 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $140,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 86,291 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,314,550. This trade represents a 3.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Rebecca Chambers sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.00, for a total value of $287,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 126,158 shares in the company, valued at $5,172,478. This trade represents a 5.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 98,549 shares of company stock worth $4,109,580 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on Veracyte from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. UBS Group upped their target price on Veracyte from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Veracyte from $28.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.38.

Veracyte Price Performance

Shares of Veracyte stock opened at $47.34 on Monday. Veracyte, Inc. has a 1 year low of $22.61 and a 1 year high of $50.71. The firm has a market cap of $3.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 143.44 and a beta of 2.16. The company has a 50-day moving average of $38.02 and a 200 day moving average of $31.41.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The biotechnology company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.19. Veracyte had a net margin of 5.50% and a return on equity of 6.07%. The business had revenue of $131.87 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $124.62 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.33 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Veracyte has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Veracyte, Inc. will post 0.68 EPS for the current year.

Veracyte 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.