GW&K Investment Management LLC Has $44.06 Million Stake in Veracyte, Inc. $VCYT

GW&K Investment Management LLC trimmed its stake in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) by 8.6% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,283,479 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 121,236 shares during the quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Veracyte were worth $44,062,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VCYT. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. bought a new stake in Veracyte during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. First Horizon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Veracyte during the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its stake in Veracyte by 289.9% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,201 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 893 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in Veracyte by 74.8% in the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 2,824 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 1,208 shares during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Veracyte in the 3rd quarter worth $107,000.

Insider Activity

In other Veracyte news, Director Karin Eastham sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.45, for a total value of $909,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 13,554 shares in the company, valued at $616,029.30. The trade was a 59.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Annie Mcguire sold 10,739 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.13, for a total transaction of $463,173.07. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 67,760 shares in the company, valued at $2,922,488.80. This represents a 13.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on VCYT shares. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Veracyte from $40.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 27th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Veracyte presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.71.

Veracyte Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VCYT opened at $36.27 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $39.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.02. Veracyte, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $22.61 and a fifty-two week high of $50.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.70 and a beta of 1.91.

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

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.