Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) Shares Sold by Jennison Associates LLC

Jennison Associates LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) by 5.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 394,114 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 23,438 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC owned approximately 0.54% of Veracyte worth $10,842,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in VCYT. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Veracyte by 96.2% during the third quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,862 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 913 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Veracyte by 533.0% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,146 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 1,807 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Veracyte during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $84,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Veracyte by 16.9% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 8,573 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $191,000 after purchasing an additional 1,239 shares during the period. Finally, OLD National Bancorp IN acquired a new position in shares of Veracyte in the 4th quarter valued at $205,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on VCYT. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Veracyte from $32.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Veracyte from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.00.

Veracyte Trading Down 2.1 %

NASDAQ:VCYT opened at $19.48 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $21.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $23.88. Veracyte, Inc. has a 12 month low of $18.61 and a 12 month high of $30.52.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Karin Eastham sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.65, for a total value of $216,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 33,125 shares in the company, valued at $717,156.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Veracyte Profile

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.