Champlain Investment Partners LLC Makes New $40.06 Million Investment in Veracyte, Inc. $VCYT

Champlain Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,167,032 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,064,000. Champlain Investment Partners LLC owned 1.48% of Veracyte at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Veracyte in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. First Horizon Corp acquired a new stake in Veracyte in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its position in Veracyte by 289.9% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,201 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 893 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its position in Veracyte by 74.8% during the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 2,824 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 1,208 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Veracyte during the 3rd quarter worth about $107,000.

Veracyte Stock Performance

NASDAQ VCYT opened at $35.08 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.79 billion, a PE ratio of 42.27 and a beta of 1.91. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $39.55 and a 200-day moving average of $38.03. Veracyte, Inc. has a 52-week low of $22.61 and a 52-week high of $50.71.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The biotechnology company reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.12. Veracyte had a net margin of 12.83% and a return on equity of 8.05%. The firm had revenue of $140.64 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $135.79 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.06 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Veracyte, Inc. will post 0.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Veracyte

In other news, CFO Rebecca Chambers sold 13,278 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.84, for a total value of $621,941.52. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 109,496 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,128,792.64. This trade represents a 10.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Karin Eastham sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.45, for a total value of $909,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 13,554 shares in the company, valued at approximately $616,029.30. This trade represents a 59.61% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 54,385 shares of company stock worth $2,483,179. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on VCYT. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on Veracyte from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Veracyte from $40.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Zacks Research raised shares of Veracyte from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Veracyte in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Veracyte in a report on Monday, January 12th. One research 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 issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.71.

About Veracyte

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.