Candriam S.C.A. Acquires Shares of 315,022 Vaxcyte, Inc. $PCVX

Key Points

• Candriam S.C.A. opened a new position in Vaxcyte during the first quarter, buying 315,022 shares worth about $18.3 million, or roughly 0.22% of the company.
• Institutional ownership remains very high, with 96.78% of Vaxcyte shares held by institutions and hedge funds. Several other firms also increased or initiated positions in the biotech company during the quarter.
• Insiders have been selling shares recently, including CFO Andrew Guggenhime and COO Jim Wassil. Separately, Vaxcyte shares fell 2.7% to $58.21, while analysts still rate the stock a Moderate Buy with a $86 price target.

Candriam S.C.A. bought a new stake in Vaxcyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCVX - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 315,022 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,306,000. Candriam S.C.A. owned about 0.22% of Vaxcyte as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Abel Hall LLC acquired a new position in Vaxcyte during the 1st quarter worth approximately $376,000. Strs Ohio raised its position in Vaxcyte by 199.0% in the first quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 30,800 shares of the company's stock worth $1,790,000 after acquiring an additional 20,500 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Vaxcyte by 113.8% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,164,813 shares of the company's stock valued at $67,687,000 after acquiring an additional 620,085 shares during the period. Values First Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Vaxcyte by 41.4% during the 1st quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. now owns 6,617 shares of the company's stock worth $385,000 after purchasing an additional 1,937 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vaxcyte in the 1st quarter valued at about $58,000. 96.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Andrew Guggenhime sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.28, for a total transaction of $572,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 104,395 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,979,745.60. This trade represents a 8.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.52, for a total transaction of $111,420.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 158,494 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,848,622.88. This represents a 1.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 75,448 shares of company stock worth $4,091,197. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PCVX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Vaxcyte in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Vaxcyte from a "sell" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Vaxcyte currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $86.00.

Vaxcyte Trading Down 2.7%

NASDAQ:PCVX traded down $1.62 on Friday, reaching $58.21. The stock had a trading volume of 623,958 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,844,484. The company has a 50-day moving average of $52.18 and a 200 day moving average of $53.92. The stock has a market cap of $8.41 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.46 and a beta of 1.22. Vaxcyte, Inc. has a 12-month low of $29.08 and a 12-month high of $65.00.

Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($2.30) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.74) by ($0.56). During the same period last year, the firm earned ($1.04) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Vaxcyte, Inc. will post -7.91 EPS for the current 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.

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