Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Acquires Shares of 323,565 Vaxcyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCVX)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Vaxcyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCVX - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 323,565 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,218,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.25% of Vaxcyte at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of Vaxcyte by 26.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,210,523 shares of the company's stock worth $508,393,000 after buying an additional 1,312,302 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Vaxcyte in the 4th quarter worth $90,069,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Vaxcyte by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,961,687 shares of the company's stock worth $979,184,000 after purchasing an additional 521,204 shares in the last quarter. Paradigm Biocapital Advisors LP raised its stake in Vaxcyte by 57.3% in the 4th quarter. Paradigm Biocapital Advisors LP now owns 1,422,787 shares of the company's stock worth $116,469,000 after acquiring an additional 518,255 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Vaxcyte in the 4th quarter worth $39,846,000. 96.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vaxcyte Stock Performance

Shares of Vaxcyte stock traded down $0.69 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $33.64. 898,241 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,448,816. Vaxcyte, Inc. has a 1 year low of $27.66 and a 1 year high of $121.06. The stock's fifty day moving average is $32.81 and its 200 day moving average is $62.20. The firm has a market cap of $4.34 billion, a PE ratio of -8.43 and a beta of 1.20.

Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 14th. The company reported ($1.04) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.02) by ($0.02). During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.85) EPS. Research analysts expect that Vaxcyte, Inc. will post -4.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on PCVX. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Vaxcyte from $157.00 to $137.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Evercore ISI upgraded Vaxcyte to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on Vaxcyte in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an "overweight" rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Vaxcyte from $138.00 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $160.00 price target on shares of Vaxcyte in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $136.50.

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.