Great Lakes Advisors LLC Takes Position in Vaxcyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCVX)

Great Lakes Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vaxcyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCVX) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 43,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,558,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of PCVX. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vaxcyte by 23.1% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 10,921,896 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,247,954,000 after buying an additional 2,052,989 shares during the period. RA Capital Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Vaxcyte by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. RA Capital Management L.P. now owns 8,689,190 shares of the company’s stock valued at $992,914,000 after buying an additional 485,436 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Vaxcyte by 47.9% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,295,837 shares of the company’s stock valued at $148,075,000 after buying an additional 419,600 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Vaxcyte during the 3rd quarter valued at $41,114,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Vaxcyte by 13.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,786,335 shares of the company’s stock worth $315,162,000 after purchasing an additional 324,560 shares during the period. 96.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on PCVX. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Vaxcyte in a report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $135.00 target price on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $140.00 target price on shares of Vaxcyte in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $160.00 target price on shares of Vaxcyte in a report on Wednesday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $147.50.

Vaxcyte Stock Up 1.8 %

NASDAQ:PCVX opened at $74.37 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $82.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $94.26. The stock has a market cap of $9.58 billion, a PE ratio of -16.17 and a beta of 1.02. Vaxcyte, Inc. has a 52 week low of $58.10 and a 52 week high of $121.06.

Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The company reported ($1.02) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.16) by $0.14. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Vaxcyte, Inc. will post -4.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Teri Loxam sold 6,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.11, for a total transaction of $531,937.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,175 shares in the company, valued at $610,664.25. This trade represents a 46.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew Guggenhime sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.78, for a total value of $710,240.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 109,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,720,610.98. The trade was a 6.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 54,250 shares of company stock worth $4,550,258 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Vaxcyte Company Profile

Vaxcyte, Inc, a clinical-stage biotechnology vaccine company, develops novel protein vaccines to prevent or treat bacterial infectious diseases. Its lead vaccine candidate is VAX-24, a 24-valent investigational pneumococcal conjugate vaccine for the prevention of invasive pneumococcal disease. The company also develops VAX-31 to protect against emerging strains and to help address antibiotic resistance; VAX-A1, a novel conjugate vaccine candidate to prevent disease caused by Group A Streptococcus; VAX-PG, a novel protein vaccine candidate targeting keystone pathogen responsible for periodontitis; and VAX-GI to prevent Shigella, a bacterial illness.