Polar Capital Holdings Plc Sells 22,134 Shares of Vaxcyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCVX)

Polar Capital Holdings Plc lowered its holdings in shares of Vaxcyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCVX - Free Report) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 973,645 shares of the company's stock after selling 22,134 shares during the period. Polar Capital Holdings Plc owned about 0.78% of Vaxcyte worth $79,703,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in Vaxcyte by 40.2% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 40,875 shares of the company's stock worth $3,346,000 after acquiring an additional 11,729 shares during the last quarter. Paradigm Biocapital Advisors LP increased its holdings in Vaxcyte by 57.3% in the fourth quarter. Paradigm Biocapital Advisors LP now owns 1,422,787 shares of the company's stock valued at $116,469,000 after purchasing an additional 518,255 shares during the period. Man Group plc increased its holdings in Vaxcyte by 878.8% in the fourth quarter. Man Group plc now owns 142,426 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,659,000 after purchasing an additional 127,875 shares during the period. Nicholas Investment Partners LP increased its holdings in Vaxcyte by 22.5% in the fourth quarter. Nicholas Investment Partners LP now owns 100,307 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,211,000 after purchasing an additional 18,424 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Vaxcyte by 14.2% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 529,650 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,357,000 after buying an additional 65,713 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.78% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on Vaxcyte in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an "overweight" rating on the stock. Bank of America reduced their price target on Vaxcyte from $157.00 to $137.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Evercore ISI upgraded Vaxcyte to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $160.00 price target on shares of Vaxcyte in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Vaxcyte in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $136.50.

Vaxcyte Price Performance

Shares of Vaxcyte stock traded up $1.92 on Tuesday, hitting $33.95. 1,599,712 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,340,622. Vaxcyte, Inc. has a one year low of $27.66 and a one year high of $121.06. The company has a fifty day moving average of $41.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $70.94. The company has a market capitalization of $4.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.35 and a beta of 1.27.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vaxcyte news, COO Jim Wassil sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.27, for a total value of $586,160.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 154,931 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,351,794.37. This represents a 4.91% 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. Corporate insiders own 3.10% of the company's stock.

Vaxcyte 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.