New York State Common Retirement Fund Buys 3,111 Shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT)

New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its stake in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 785,971 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,111 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Veracyte were worth $31,124,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings 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 worth $91,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its stake in Veracyte by 34.1% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,909 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 485 shares during the period. 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 during the period. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in Veracyte by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 123,324 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $4,884,000 after buying an additional 675 shares during the period. Finally, 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 during the period.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Veracyte from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on Veracyte from $44.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $37.00 price objective (down previously from $38.00) on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Veracyte from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on Veracyte from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. One 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. According to MarketBeat, Veracyte presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.00.

Veracyte Stock Down 2.5 %

NASDAQ VCYT opened at $41.05 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $42.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $37.22. 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 $3.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -273.67 and a beta of 1.71.

Insider Transactions at Veracyte

In other news, CAO Jonathan Wygant sold 5,032 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,814,804.57. The trade was a 10.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Leite sold 1,050 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.25, for a total value of $45,412.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 73,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,192,282.50. This represents a 1.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 24,565 shares of company stock worth $1,031,406. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

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.