Aberdeen Group plc Sells 19,821 Shares of Veracyte, Inc. $VCYT

Aberdeen Group plc reduced its stake in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) by 10.9% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 162,102 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 19,821 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc’s holdings in Veracyte were worth $5,565,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VCYT. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its position in Veracyte by 20.7% in the second quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 6,321,775 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $170,878,000 after acquiring an additional 1,082,064 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 770.6% in the 2nd 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 period. Soleus Capital Management L.P. purchased a new position in Veracyte in the second quarter valued at approximately $19,338,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Veracyte by 667.9% during the third 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 grew 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 valued at $41,078,000 after purchasing an additional 360,947 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on VCYT. Guggenheim boosted their target price on Veracyte from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Zacks Research raised Veracyte from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on Veracyte from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on shares of Veracyte from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.14.

Veracyte Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of Veracyte stock opened at $35.63 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $40.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.49. Veracyte, Inc. has a 12-month low of $22.61 and a 12-month high of $50.71. The company has a market cap of $2.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 93.77 and a beta of 1.91.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Marc Stapley sold 7,668 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.09, for a total value of $361,086.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 318,603 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,003,015.27. This represents a 2.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Annie Mcguire sold 10,739 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.13, for a total value of $463,173.07. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 67,760 shares in the company, valued at $2,922,488.80. This trade represents a 13.68% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 58,299 shares of company stock worth $2,679,156. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.