Legal Advantage Investments Inc. Purchases Shares of 6,306 Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT)

Legal Advantage Investments Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 6,306 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $250,000.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Veracyte by 13.7% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,677 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $91,000 after buying an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Veracyte by 21.7% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,778 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $94,000 after buying an additional 496 shares in the last quarter. Virtus Fund Advisers LLC boosted its stake in Veracyte by 32.9% during the third quarter. Virtus Fund Advisers LLC now owns 4,798 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $163,000 after buying an additional 1,189 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Veracyte by 100.6% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,781 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $95,000 after buying an additional 1,395 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 5.3% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 42,766 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $927,000 after purchasing an additional 2,135 shares during the last quarter.

Veracyte Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of VCYT stock opened at $40.58 on Tuesday. Veracyte, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $18.61 and a fifty-two week high of $46.00. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $41.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.23.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.03 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $115.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.81 million. Veracyte had a positive return on equity of 3.02% and a negative net margin of 2.18%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.03) EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Veracyte, Inc. will post 0.38 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Karin Eastham sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.30, for a total transaction of $403,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 18,497 shares in the company, valued at $745,429.10. This trade represents a 35.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Jonathan Wygant sold 5,032 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.89, for a total value of $215,822.48. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 42,313 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,814,804.57. This trade represents a 10.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 24,038 shares of company stock valued at $1,008,297. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group upped their target price on Veracyte from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on Veracyte from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $37.00 target price (down from $38.00) on shares of Veracyte in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Veracyte in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Finally, Guggenheim started coverage on Veracyte in a report on Thursday, October 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $40.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $41.13.

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.