AlphaQuest LLC Sells 8,728 Shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT)

AlphaQuest LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) by 88.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,151 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 8,728 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Veracyte were worth $46,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in Veracyte by 49.7% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 714 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in Veracyte by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 22,276 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $882,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its position in Veracyte by 13.7% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,677 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its position in Veracyte by 34.1% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,909 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the period. Finally, US Bancorp DE boosted its position in Veracyte by 57.4% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,774 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 647 shares during the period.

Insider Buying and Selling at Veracyte

In other Veracyte news, Director Karin Eastham sold 10,000 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.30, for a total value of $403,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 18,497 shares in the company, valued at $745,429.10. The trade was a 35.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Veracyte Stock Up 0.2 %

VCYT stock opened at $31.84 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.48 billion, a PE ratio of -212.27 and a beta of 1.80. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.61. Veracyte, Inc. has a 52 week low of $18.61 and a 52 week high of $47.32.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The biotechnology company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.07. Veracyte had a positive return on equity of 3.02% and a negative net margin of 2.18%. The business had revenue of $118.63 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $110.73 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.39) earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Veracyte, Inc. will post 0.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. StockNews.com downgraded Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $37.00 target price (down previously from $38.00) on shares of Veracyte in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Veracyte in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Craig Hallum began coverage on Veracyte in a report on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating and a $45.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.22.

Veracyte Company Profile

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.