Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. Invests $378,000 in Vaxcyte, Inc. $PCVX

Key Points

• Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. acquired 10,004 shares of Vaxcyte, Inc. (NASDAQ: PCVX) in the first quarter, with a total value of approximately $378,000.
• Multiple hedge funds have either increased or initiated stakes in Vaxcyte, indicating strong institutional interest, with 96.78% of the company's stock owned by institutional investors.
• Despite reporting a loss of ($1.22) earnings per share for the last quarter, Vaxcyte has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a price target of $130.00 from analysts.

Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vaxcyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCVX - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 10,004 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $378,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in PCVX. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in Vaxcyte by 104.7% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 716,773 shares of the company's stock valued at $58,675,000 after buying an additional 366,622 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets purchased a new stake in Vaxcyte in the fourth quarter valued at about $7,471,000. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP raised its stake in Vaxcyte by 137.8% in the fourth quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 4,393 shares of the company's stock valued at $360,000 after buying an additional 2,546 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in Vaxcyte by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,212,706 shares of the company's stock valued at $99,272,000 after buying an additional 64,522 shares during the last quarter. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its stake in Vaxcyte by 83.2% in the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 775,653 shares of the company's stock valued at $63,495,000 after buying an additional 352,155 shares during the last quarter. 96.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Vaxcyte in a research note on Friday. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $38.00 price target for the company. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Vaxcyte in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $106.25.

Vaxcyte Stock Down 2.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:PCVX traded down $0.91 during trading on Friday, hitting $32.15. The stock had a trading volume of 666,030 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,751,541. Vaxcyte, Inc. has a 12-month low of $27.66 and a 12-month high of $121.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.82 and a beta of 1.04. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $33.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.61.

Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported ($1.22) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.12) by ($0.10). During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($1.10) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Vaxcyte, Inc. will post -4.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Vaxcyte Company Profile

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.