Fred Alger Management LLC Reduces Stake in Vaxcyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCVX)

Fred Alger Management LLC trimmed its stake in Vaxcyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCVX) by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,243,717 shares of the company’s stock after selling 66,719 shares during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC owned approximately 1.00% of Vaxcyte worth $142,120,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PCVX. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its position in Vaxcyte by 163.5% in the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 18,064 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,234,000 after buying an additional 11,208 shares during the last quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vaxcyte during the 1st quarter worth about $258,000. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in Vaxcyte by 11.8% in the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 92,026 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,286,000 after purchasing an additional 9,695 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC bought a new stake in Vaxcyte in the first quarter worth about $405,000. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its position in shares of Vaxcyte by 16.6% during the first quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 25,059 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,712,000 after buying an additional 3,564 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.78% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vaxcyte

In other Vaxcyte news, COO Jim Wassil sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.93, for a total transaction of $1,119,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 207,503 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,225,810.79. This represents a 4.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Elvia Cowan sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.67, for a total transaction of $538,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 12,723 shares in the company, valued at $1,369,885.41. This represents a 28.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 102,464 shares of company stock valued at $11,455,576. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Vaxcyte Price Performance

Shares of Vaxcyte stock opened at $93.98 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $11.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -20.43 and a beta of 1.01. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $106.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $90.00. Vaxcyte, Inc. has a 1 year low of $48.81 and a 1 year high of $121.06.

Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported ($0.83) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.10) by $0.27. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.91) EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Vaxcyte, Inc. will post -4.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on PCVX shares. Bank of America raised their price target on Vaxcyte from $101.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Vaxcyte from $113.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $140.00 price target on shares of Vaxcyte in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Vaxcyte from $108.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, BTIG Research upped their target price on shares of Vaxcyte from $98.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $147.50.

About Vaxcyte

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.