Citigroup Inc. Cuts Stake in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT)

Citigroup Inc. cut its stake in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT – Get Rating) by 59.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 129,484 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 191,716 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc.’s holdings in Veracyte were worth $3,073,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its position in Veracyte by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 72,033 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,709,000 after purchasing an additional 6,273 shares during the period. UBS Group AG increased its position in shares of Veracyte by 275.9% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 205,213 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $4,870,000 after acquiring an additional 150,620 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank increased its position in shares of Veracyte by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 172,900 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $4,103,000 after acquiring an additional 3,500 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in shares of Veracyte by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 20,197 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $479,000 after acquiring an additional 782 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Duality Advisers LP purchased a new stake in shares of Veracyte during the fourth quarter worth about $936,000.

Veracyte Price Performance

Shares of Veracyte stock opened at $26.29 on Tuesday. Veracyte, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $14.92 and a fifty-two week high of $32.40. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $22.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.54.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 4th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.11) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.14) by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $82.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $75.75 million. Veracyte had a negative return on equity of 2.83% and a negative net margin of 9.70%. Veracyte’s quarterly revenue was up 21.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.20) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Veracyte, Inc. will post -0.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Veracyte

In other Veracyte news, Director Bonnie H. Anderson sold 34,000 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.04, for a total value of $749,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 42,681 shares in the company, valued at $940,689.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VCYT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on Veracyte from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 23rd. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Veracyte in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.20.

Veracyte Company Profile

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Veracyte, Inc engages in the research, development and commercialization of diagnostic products. The firm’s portfolio includes Afirma, Percepta, and Envisia. It intends to treat thyroid cancer, improve lung cancer screening, and clarify the diagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. The company was founded by Bonnie H.