Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Decreases Stake in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. decreased its position in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) by 22.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 279,331 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 81,540 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. owned 0.36% of Veracyte worth $11,062,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in Veracyte by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 16,630 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $659,000 after buying an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in Veracyte by 24.3% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 26,167 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,036,000 after buying an additional 5,123 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in Veracyte by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 25,439 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,007,000 after buying an additional 2,115 shares during the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its stake in Veracyte by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 20,964 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $916,000 after buying an additional 1,501 shares during the last quarter. Finally, E Fund Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Veracyte in the 4th quarter valued at about $253,000.

Veracyte Trading Up 3.5 %

VCYT opened at $31.51 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $39.67 and a 200 day moving average of $37.61. The company has a market cap of $2.46 billion, a PE ratio of -210.07 and a beta of 1.80. Veracyte, Inc. has a 12 month low of $18.61 and a 12 month high of $47.32.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Veracyte

In other Veracyte news, Director Karin Eastham sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.30, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Veracyte from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Veracyte from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Veracyte has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.00.

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.