California State Teachers Retirement System Acquires 4,733 Shares of Vaxcyte, Inc. $PCVX

Key Points

• California State Teachers Retirement System increased its Vaxcyte stake by 3.5%, buying 4,733 shares to own 140,833 shares valued at approximately $8.2 million. Institutional investors collectively hold 96.78% of PCVX.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with five Buy ratings, one Hold, and one Sell, producing a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $98 price target.
• Vaxcyte shares traded near $58.69, while insiders sold 124,588 shares worth about $6.84 million over the past three months. The clinical-stage biotech reported a quarterly loss of $1.97 per share, beating estimates by $0.09.

California State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in Vaxcyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCVX - Free Report) by 3.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 140,833 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,733 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.09% of Vaxcyte worth $8,186,622 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of PCVX. Readystate Asset Management LP boosted its position in shares of Vaxcyte by 332.5% during the 2nd quarter. Readystate Asset Management LP now owns 156,090 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,074,000 after purchasing an additional 120,000 shares in the last quarter. Nykredit A S bought a new stake in Vaxcyte during the second quarter valued at about $1,235,000. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG purchased a new stake in Vaxcyte during the 2nd quarter valued at $4,412,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in shares of Vaxcyte by 27.6% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,344 shares of the company's stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 291 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in Vaxcyte by 4.0% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 4,151 shares of the company's stock valued at $241,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.78% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on PCVX shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Vaxcyte from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Vaxcyte in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Vaxcyte from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $98.00.

Insider Activity at Vaxcyte

In related news, COO Jim Wassil sold 3,477 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.07, for a total transaction of $212,340.39. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 155,041 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,468,353.87. This represents a 2.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Harpreet Dhaliwal sold 17,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.00, for a total transaction of $935,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 76,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,221,580. This trade represents a 18.13% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 124,588 shares of company stock valued at $6,835,592. 3.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Vaxcyte Price Performance

Vaxcyte stock traded down $0.85 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $58.69. 1,022,780 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,368,469. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.71 and a beta of 1.22. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $58.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $56.30. Vaxcyte, Inc. has a 52-week low of $30.81 and a 52-week high of $65.00.

Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported ($1.97) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($2.06) by $0.09. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($1.22) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vaxcyte, Inc. will post -7.6 EPS for the current year.

Vaxcyte Profile

Vaxcyte, Inc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing vaccines to prevent serious bacterial infections. The company's lead programs target pneumococcal disease, which can cause pneumonia, meningitis, bloodstream infections and other invasive illnesses. Vaxcyte is developing broad-spectrum pneumococcal conjugate vaccine candidates designed to protect against a wide range of bacterial serotypes.

Vaxcyte's pipeline has included VAX-24, an investigational 24-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, and VAX-31, a next-generation candidate designed to cover 31 serotypes.

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