Renaissance Technologies LLC Takes Position in Veracyte, Inc. $VCYT

Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 223,500 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,199,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned about 0.28% of Veracyte as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its position in Veracyte by 289.9% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,201 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 893 shares during the period. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in Veracyte during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of Veracyte in the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 159.8% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,104 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 679 shares during the period. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new position in shares of Veracyte in the 4th quarter valued at about $61,000.

Veracyte Stock Performance

VCYT stock opened at $46.41 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.92 and a beta of 1.95. Veracyte, Inc. has a 1 year low of $23.79 and a 1 year high of $60.91. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $53.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.35.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The biotechnology company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $150.32 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $144.59 million. Veracyte had a return on equity of 9.26% and a net margin of 20.37%.Veracyte’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.44 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Veracyte, Inc. will post 1.27 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Veracyte

In other Veracyte news, Director Karin Eastham sold 3,729 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.89, for a total transaction of $197,226.81. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 15,097 shares in the company, valued at $798,480.33. This trade represents a 19.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert S. Epstein sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.01, for a total transaction of $440,100.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 52,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,308,148.46. The trade was a 16.01% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 196,492 shares of company stock valued at $9,680,897 in the last three months. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on Veracyte from $57.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target on shares of Veracyte from $60.00 to $50.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Zacks Research cut shares of Veracyte from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Stephens decreased their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $68.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $54.33.

Veracyte Company 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.