ARK Investment Management LLC Has $166.48 Million Position in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT)

ARK Investment Management LLC reduced its holdings in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) by 14.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 4,203,951 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 716,794 shares during the quarter. Veracyte comprises 1.4% of ARK Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. ARK Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Veracyte worth $166,476,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Securities Inc. grew its position 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 stake in shares of Veracyte in the fourth quarter valued at about $91,000. KBC Group NV grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Veracyte by 21.7% in 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 purchasing an additional 496 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Veracyte by 100.6% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,781 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 1,395 shares during the last quarter.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Jonathan Wygant sold 956 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,746,107.20. The trade was a 2.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Rebecca Chambers sold 7,000 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.23, for a total transaction of $302,610.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 114,037 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,929,819.51. This trade represents a 5.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 19,533 shares of company stock worth $815,584 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Veracyte Stock Down 15.0 %

Shares of VCYT opened at $33.46 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -223.07 and a beta of 1.71. Veracyte, Inc. has a 12 month low of $18.61 and a 12 month high of $47.32. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $41.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.60.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The biotechnology company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $118.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 quarter last year, the company earned ($0.39) earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Veracyte, Inc. will post 0.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VCYT has been the subject of several research reports. Scotiabank increased their target price 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 reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $51.00 target price on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Veracyte from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Veracyte currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.00.

About Veracyte

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.