Amalgamated Bank Increases Stock Holdings in Veracyte, Inc. $VCYT

Amalgamated Bank lifted its position in shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) by 755.3% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 22,760 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,099 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Veracyte were worth $781,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Veracyte by 178.4% in the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 37,118 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,003,000 after buying an additional 23,785 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC increased its stake in Veracyte by 1,279.9% in the second quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 8,031 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $217,000 after purchasing an additional 7,449 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co raised its stake in Veracyte by 148.8% during the third quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 22,065 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $757,000 after purchasing an additional 13,196 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Veracyte in the third quarter valued at $839,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 15.1% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 132,434 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $4,546,000 after purchasing an additional 17,393 shares during the period.

Insider Activity at Veracyte

In related news, CFO Rebecca Chambers sold 13,278 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.84, for a total value of $621,941.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 109,496 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,128,792.64. This represents a 10.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Leite sold 1,278 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.51, for a total transaction of $60,717.78. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 82,113 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,901,188.63. This trade represents a 1.53% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 134,635 shares of company stock worth $5,981,961. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Veracyte Trading Down 4.0%

VCYT stock opened at $40.57 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $43.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.03. The company has a market capitalization of $3.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 106.77 and a beta of 1.88. Veracyte, Inc. has a 52 week low of $22.61 and a 52 week high of $50.71.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The biotechnology company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.19. Veracyte had a net margin of 6.12% and a return on equity of 7.23%. The company had revenue of $131.87 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $124.62 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.33 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Veracyte, Inc. will post 0.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on VCYT shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Veracyte from $40.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on Veracyte from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on Veracyte from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Veracyte in a report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Veracyte from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Veracyte currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.14.

Veracyte Profile

Veracyte, Inc is a genomic diagnostics company focused on improving diagnostic accuracy and patient care through advanced molecular testing. Founded in 2008 and headquartered in South San Francisco, California, the company develops and commercializes minimally invasive genomic tests that aid in the diagnosis of thyroid, lung and other diseases. Veracyte’s proprietary platform analyzes gene expression patterns in clinical samples to help physicians make more informed treatment decisions, reducing unnecessary surgeries and improving patient outcomes.

The company’s flagship product, the Afirma Genomic Sequencing Classifier, is designed to assess thyroid nodules with indeterminate cytology, helping clinicians distinguish benign from suspicious nodules.