Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. Acquires New Stake in Veracyte, Inc. $VCYT

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 394,963 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,559,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. owned approximately 0.50% of Veracyte at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of Veracyte by 23.3% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 28,712 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $852,000 after purchasing an additional 5,435 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in Veracyte by 12.2% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 195,793 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $5,805,000 after buying an additional 21,330 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC grew its holdings in Veracyte by 94.7% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 216,909 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $6,431,000 after acquiring an additional 105,499 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Veracyte by 54.1% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 42,762 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,268,000 after acquiring an additional 15,017 shares during the period. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its position in Veracyte by 10.4% in the second quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 87,524 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,366,000 after acquiring an additional 8,214 shares in the last quarter.

Veracyte Price Performance

Shares of VCYT opened at $35.63 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $40.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.49. The stock has a market cap of $2.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 93.77 and a beta of 1.91. Veracyte, Inc. has a one year low of $22.61 and a one year high of $50.71.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on VCYT shares. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of 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 report on Saturday, December 27th. Guggenheim upped their price target on Veracyte from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Veracyte from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.14.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider John Leite sold 2,808 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $140,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 86,291 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,314,550. The trade was a 3.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Karin Eastham sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.45, for a total value of $909,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 13,554 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $616,029.30. This represents a 59.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 58,299 shares of company stock worth $2,679,156. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.