Janus Henderson Group PLC Acquires 3,188,687 Shares of Vaxcyte, Inc. $PCVX

Key Points

• Janus Henderson increased its Vaxcyte stake by 23.8% in the first quarter, adding 3.19 million shares to own 16.58 million shares worth approximately $960.2 million, or 11.48% of PCVX. Institutional investors collectively own 96.78% of the company.
• Vaxcyte reported a first-quarter loss of $2.30 per share, missing the $1.74 consensus estimate; analysts expect a full-year loss of $7.91 per share. The stock recently traded at $52.98, versus a 52-week range of $29.08 to $65.00.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with six Buy ratings, one Hold and two Sell ratings, producing an overall “Hold” consensus and an average price target of $86.00. Meanwhile, company insiders sold 93,646 shares worth $5.1 million over the past 90 days, including sales by the CEO and COO under pre-arranged trading plans.

Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in Vaxcyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCVX - Free Report) by 23.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,575,875 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 3,188,687 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC owned approximately 11.48% of Vaxcyte worth $960,231,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. NEXTBio Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Vaxcyte during the 4th quarter valued at $4,406,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Vaxcyte during the 4th quarter worth about $56,703,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH boosted its stake in Vaxcyte by 105.3% in the 4th quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 70,124 shares of the company's stock worth $3,236,000 after purchasing an additional 35,974 shares during the period. Eventide Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Vaxcyte by 141.8% in the 4th quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 917,115 shares of the company's stock worth $42,313,000 after purchasing an additional 537,785 shares during the period. Finally, Aberdeen Group plc grew its holdings in Vaxcyte by 35.6% during the 4th quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 979,765 shares of the company's stock valued at $45,206,000 after buying an additional 256,972 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.78% of the company's stock.

Vaxcyte Stock Performance

Shares of PCVX stock opened at $52.98 on Thursday. Vaxcyte, Inc. has a 52-week low of $29.08 and a 52-week high of $65.00. The company has a market capitalization of $7.65 billion, a PE ratio of -7.70 and a beta of 1.22. The business's fifty day moving average is $52.94 and its 200 day moving average is $54.82.

Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($2.30) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.74) by ($0.56). During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($1.04) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Vaxcyte, Inc. will post -7.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vaxcyte

In related news, CEO Grant Pickering sold 2,000 shares of the company'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 directly owned 133,215 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,413,414.75. This represents a 1.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Jim Wassil sold 2,250 shares of the company'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 owned 156,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,830,290.80. This trade represents a 1.42% 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. Insiders have sold a total of 93,646 shares of company stock valued at $5,103,592 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PCVX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Vaxcyte in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Vaxcyte from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Vaxcyte from a "sell" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vaxcyte currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $86.00.

Vaxcyte Company Profile

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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