Lazard Asset Management LLC Invests $39.85 Million in Vaxcyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCVX)

Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Vaxcyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCVX - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 486,764 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $39,846,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned about 0.39% of Vaxcyte at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PCVX. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Vaxcyte in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in Vaxcyte by 188.4% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 398 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI purchased a new stake in Vaxcyte in the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Vaxcyte by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 742 shares of the company's stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its position in Vaxcyte by 77,500.0% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 776 shares of the company's stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 775 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.78% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on PCVX shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Vaxcyte from $138.00 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Vaxcyte in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an "overweight" rating on the stock. Evercore ISI raised shares of Vaxcyte to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Vaxcyte from $157.00 to $137.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $160.00 target price on shares of Vaxcyte in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $136.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Andrew Guggenhime sold 8,000 shares of Vaxcyte stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.85, for a total value of $670,800.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 109,491 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,180,820.35. The trade was a 6.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 3.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Vaxcyte Stock Up 3.1%

Vaxcyte stock traded up $0.95 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $31.85. 1,522,478 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,338,366. The company has a market cap of $4.11 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.92 and a beta of 1.27. Vaxcyte, Inc. has a twelve month low of $27.66 and a twelve month high of $121.06. The company has a fifty day moving average of $42.56 and a 200-day moving average of $71.47.

Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 14th. The company reported ($1.04) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.02) by ($0.02). During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.85) EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Vaxcyte, Inc. will post -4.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Vaxcyte

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.