Rice Hall James & Associates LLC Sells 31,575 Shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT)

Rice Hall James & Associates LLC reduced its position in shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) by 24.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 95,615 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 31,575 shares during the quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC owned 0.12% of Veracyte worth $3,786,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 34.1% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,909 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Veracyte in the fourth quarter valued at $91,000. Castleview Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Veracyte in the third quarter valued at $87,000. Values First Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Veracyte in the third quarter valued at about $91,000. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of Veracyte by 13.7% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,677 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $91,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares in the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on VCYT. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Veracyte from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on shares of Veracyte from $44.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Veracyte from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Veracyte from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Veracyte currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.00.

Insider Transactions at Veracyte

In other news, CAO Jonathan Wygant sold 956 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.36, for a total value of $41,452.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 40,270 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,746,107.20. This represents a 2.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Karin Eastham sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 18,497 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $745,429.10. This trade represents a 35.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 24,565 shares of company stock valued at $1,031,406. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Veracyte Price Performance

VCYT stock opened at $40.42 on Wednesday. Veracyte, Inc. has a 12 month low of $18.61 and a 12 month high of $47.32. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $42.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $37.03.

Veracyte 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.