QRG Capital Management Inc. Has $354,000 Stock Position in Veracyte, Inc. $VCYT

QRG Capital Management Inc. reduced its holdings in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) by 72.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,975 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 28,295 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Veracyte were worth $354,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of VCYT. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in shares of Veracyte by 23.3% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 28,712 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $852,000 after acquiring an additional 5,435 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in Veracyte by 12.2% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 195,793 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $5,805,000 after acquiring an additional 21,330 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC increased its position in Veracyte by 94.7% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 216,909 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $6,431,000 after acquiring an additional 105,499 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Veracyte by 54.1% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 42,762 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,268,000 after purchasing an additional 15,017 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in Veracyte by 32.2% during the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 48,786 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,319,000 after purchasing an additional 11,889 shares during the last quarter.

Veracyte Trading Down 3.9%

VCYT stock traded down $2.33 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $56.97. The stock had a trading volume of 757,209 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,347,420. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.27 and a beta of 1.93. Veracyte, Inc. has a 52 week low of $22.61 and a 52 week high of $60.91. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $40.86.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $139.07 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $130.36 million. Veracyte had a net margin of 16.25% and a return on equity of 9.07%. The business’s revenue was up 21.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.31 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Veracyte, Inc. will post 1.29 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Veracyte from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 27th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $45.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $55.00 target price for the company. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on Veracyte from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.86.

Insider Activity at Veracyte

In other news, insider John Leite sold 13,975 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.07, for a total transaction of $699,728.25. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 132,305 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,624,511.35. The trade was a 9.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Marc Stapley sold 138,051 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.12, for a total transaction of $6,919,116.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 440,494 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,077,559.28. The trade was a 23.86% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold 206,696 shares of company stock worth $10,079,058 in the last ninety days. 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.