Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Purchases Shares of 40,318 Veracyte, Inc. $VCYT

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 40,318 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,384,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its stake in Veracyte by 20.7% during the 2nd quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 6,321,775 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $170,878,000 after buying an additional 1,082,064 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its holdings in Veracyte by 770.6% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 897,387 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $24,256,000 after purchasing an additional 794,307 shares during the last quarter. Soleus Capital Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Veracyte in the second quarter valued at approximately $19,338,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Veracyte by 667.9% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 435,761 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $14,960,000 after purchasing an additional 379,014 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Veracyte by 31.1% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,519,710 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $41,078,000 after buying an additional 360,947 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling at Veracyte

In other Veracyte news, SVP Annie Mcguire sold 10,739 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.13, for a total transaction of $463,173.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 67,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,922,488.80. The trade was a 13.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Karin Eastham sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.45, for a total value of $909,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 13,554 shares in the company, valued at approximately $616,029.30. This represents a 59.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 68,299 shares of company stock valued at $3,102,756. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on VCYT. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on Veracyte from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on Veracyte from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.14.

Veracyte Price Performance

NASDAQ:VCYT opened at $36.03 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $40.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.43. The company has a market capitalization of $2.85 billion, a PE ratio of 94.82 and a beta of 1.91. Veracyte, Inc. has a 1-year low of $22.61 and a 1-year high of $50.71.

Veracyte Company 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.