Rafferty Asset Management LLC Sells 15,624 Shares of Vaxcyte, Inc. $PCVX

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in Vaxcyte, Inc. by 10.6%, now owning 131,812 shares worth approximately $4.98 million.
• Vaxcyte reported a loss of ($1.22) earnings per share for the recent quarter, missing expectations and indicating a need for improvement in financial performance.
• The consensus rating for Vaxcyte among analysts is "Buy", with a target price of $136.50, suggesting potential for future gains despite recent losses.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC trimmed its stake in Vaxcyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCVX - Free Report) by 10.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 131,812 shares of the company's stock after selling 15,624 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.10% of Vaxcyte worth $4,977,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PCVX. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Vaxcyte by 44.4% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,416,930 shares of the company's stock worth $242,303,000 after acquiring an additional 1,972,918 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Vaxcyte in the 1st quarter valued at $20,988,000. Paradigm Biocapital Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Vaxcyte by 57.3% during the 4th quarter. Paradigm Biocapital Advisors LP now owns 1,422,787 shares of the company's stock worth $116,469,000 after buying an additional 518,255 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vaxcyte during the 4th quarter worth $39,846,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Vaxcyte by 104.7% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 716,773 shares of the company's stock worth $58,675,000 after buying an additional 366,622 shares in the last quarter. 96.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Vaxcyte in a report on Thursday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and ten have given a Buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $136.50.

Vaxcyte Price Performance

PCVX stock traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $30.79. 944,896 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,511,927. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.00 billion, a PE ratio of -7.49 and a beta of 1.04. Vaxcyte, Inc. has a 52 week low of $27.66 and a 52 week high of $121.06. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $33.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.17.

Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported ($1.22) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.12) by ($0.10). During the same period last year, the company posted ($1.10) earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Vaxcyte, Inc. will post -4.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.