ARK Investment Management LLC Acquires 62,011 Shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT)

ARK Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,655,603 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 62,011 shares during the quarter. Veracyte makes up 1.2% of ARK Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. ARK Investment Management LLC owned 0.10% of Veracyte worth $210,606,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in VCYT. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 45.5% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,945,870 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $108,788,000 after acquiring an additional 1,234,244 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Veracyte in the second quarter worth $28,477,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Veracyte by 74.3% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,296,135 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $51,199,000 after purchasing an additional 978,487 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in Veracyte by 121.5% in the second quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,049,845 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $20,892,000 after purchasing an additional 575,949 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Veracyte by 380.3% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 669,748 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,883,000 after purchasing an additional 530,310 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VCYT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Veracyte from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on Veracyte from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Veracyte in a report on Friday, February 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Veracyte currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $30.00.

Veracyte Stock Up 2.6 %

NASDAQ VCYT opened at $21.72 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $23.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.31. Veracyte, Inc. has a 52 week low of $19.52 and a 52 week high of $30.52.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $98.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $95.49 million. Veracyte had a negative return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 20.61%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Veracyte, Inc. will post -0.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Veracyte

Veracyte, Inc operates as a diagnostics company in the United States and internationally. The company offers Afirma Genomic Sequencing Classifier for cancerous thyroid nodules; Decipher Prostate Biopsy and Radical Prostatectomy for prostate cancer diagnosis; Prosigna Breast Cancer Assay for breast cancer diagnosis; Percepta Nasal Swab Test for lung cancer diagnosis; and Envisia Genomic Classifier for diagnosing interstitial lung disease, including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.