264,704 Shares in Vaxcyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCVX) Purchased by Raymond James Financial Inc.

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Vaxcyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCVX) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 264,704 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,669,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.21% of Vaxcyte as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Vaxcyte in the 4th quarter worth approximately $90,069,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Vaxcyte by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,961,687 shares of the company’s stock valued at $979,184,000 after buying an additional 521,204 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 324,560 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Vaxcyte by 486.2% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 308,939 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,290,000 after acquiring an additional 256,237 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Vaxcyte by 70.8% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 593,523 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,418,000 after acquiring an additional 246,049 shares during the last quarter. 96.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vaxcyte Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PCVX opened at $30.65 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $60.72 and its 200 day moving average is $83.06. Vaxcyte, Inc. has a 1 year low of $27.66 and a 1 year high of $121.06. The company has a market cap of $3.95 billion, a PE ratio of -6.66 and a beta of 1.26.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on PCVX. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Vaxcyte from $138.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Vaxcyte to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Vaxcyte in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Vaxcyte from $157.00 to $137.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $160.00 price target on shares of Vaxcyte in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $136.50.

Insider Transactions at Vaxcyte

In related news, COO Jim Wassil sold 8,000 shares of Vaxcyte stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.27, for a total transaction of $586,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 154,931 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,351,794.37. This trade represents a 4.91 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In the last quarter, insiders sold 32,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,638,800. Corporate insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Vaxcyte 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.