Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Makes New $16.22 Million Investment in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new position in shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 409,702 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,224,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in Veracyte by 49.7% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 714 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in Veracyte by 57.4% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,774 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 647 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. increased its position in Veracyte by 34.1% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,909 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Veracyte during the fourth quarter worth approximately $91,000. Finally, Bellevue Group AG acquired a new position in shares of Veracyte in the 3rd quarter valued at $123,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on VCYT shares. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group raised their price objective on Veracyte from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $51.00 target price on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Veracyte in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Craig Hallum started coverage on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Veracyte presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.40.

Veracyte Trading Down 3.2 %

Shares of VCYT stock opened at $30.12 on Friday. Veracyte, Inc. has a twelve month low of $18.61 and a twelve month high of $47.32. The company has a market capitalization of $2.35 billion, a PE ratio of -200.80 and a beta of 1.80. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $37.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.69.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The biotechnology company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.07. Veracyte had a positive return on equity of 3.02% and a negative net margin of 2.18%. The company had revenue of $118.63 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $110.73 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.39) earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Veracyte, Inc. will post 0.68 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Veracyte

In other Veracyte news, Director Karin Eastham sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.30, for a total transaction of $403,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,497 shares in the company, valued at $745,429.10. This represents a 35.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.