Lazard Asset Management LLC Sells 17,955 Shares of Vaxcyte, Inc. $PCVX

Lazard Asset Management LLC lessened its position in Vaxcyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCVX) by 27.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 47,023 shares of the company’s stock after selling 17,955 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Vaxcyte were worth $2,733,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PCVX. NEXTBio Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Vaxcyte in the 4th quarter worth about $4,406,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Vaxcyte during the fourth quarter worth about $56,703,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH boosted its stake in Vaxcyte by 105.3% during the fourth quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 70,124 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,236,000 after acquiring an additional 35,974 shares in the last quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Vaxcyte by 141.8% during the fourth quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 917,115 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,313,000 after acquiring an additional 537,785 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Candriam S.C.A. purchased a new stake in Vaxcyte in the first quarter worth about $18,306,000. 96.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on PCVX. Zacks Research lowered shares of Vaxcyte from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Vaxcyte in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Vaxcyte from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vaxcyte

In related news, CEO Grant Pickering sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.65, for a total value of $111,300.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 133,215 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,413,414.75. This trade represents a 1.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Jim Wassil sold 2,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.33, for a total transaction of $126,742.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 156,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,830,290.80. The trade was a 1.42% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 91,396 shares of company stock worth $4,975,725 in the last three months. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Vaxcyte Stock Performance

Shares of PCVX stock opened at $54.08 on Friday. Vaxcyte, Inc. has a one year low of $29.08 and a one year high of $65.00. The company’s 50-day moving average is $53.25 and its 200 day moving average is $54.89. The company has a market capitalization of $7.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.86 and a beta of 1.22.

Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($2.30) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.74) by ($0.56). During the same period last year, the company earned ($1.04) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Vaxcyte, Inc. will post -7.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Vaxcyte

Vaxcyte, Inc (NASDAQ: PCVX) is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing a new generation of preventive vaccines aimed at combating serious bacterial diseases. Headquartered in San Carlos, California, Vaxcyte leverages proprietary conjugation technologies to design and manufacture multivalent vaccines targeting pathogens for which there remain significant unmet medical needs. The company’s platform is intended to streamline the production of conjugate vaccines by improving antigen presentation and broadening strain coverage compared with conventional approaches.

Vaxcyte’s lead candidate, VAX-24, is a 24-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine designed to protect against 24 serotypes of Streptococcus pneumoniae.