Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Acquires New Shares in Dynavax Technologies Co. (NASDAQ:DVAX)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of Dynavax Technologies Co. (NASDAQ:DVAX) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 64,700 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $905,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of DVAX. Great Lakes Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Dynavax Technologies by 5,930.1% in the third quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 747,003 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $11,033,000 after buying an additional 734,615 shares during the last quarter. Kynam Capital Management LP bought a new position in Dynavax Technologies during the third quarter valued at about $7,385,000. Eventide Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Dynavax Technologies by 38.9% during the third quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 1,425,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $21,047,000 after acquiring an additional 398,914 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Dynavax Technologies during the third quarter valued at about $5,786,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Dynavax Technologies by 3.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,146,891 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $135,100,000 after acquiring an additional 270,730 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on DVAX shares. StockNews.com lowered Dynavax Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Dynavax Technologies in a report on Thursday, February 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $20.00 target price on the stock. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Dynavax Technologies in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $25.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Justin Burgess sold 20,526 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.78, for a total transaction of $262,322.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.98% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Dynavax Technologies Price Performance

DVAX opened at $11.17 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.46 billion, a P/E ratio of -186.14 and a beta of 1.26. Dynavax Technologies Co. has a 12 month low of $10.06 and a 12 month high of $15.15. The company has a quick ratio of 12.96, a current ratio of 13.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $12.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $13.21.

Dynavax Technologies Company Profile

Dynavax Technologies Corporation, a commercial stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing and commercializing vaccines in the United States. It markets HEPLISAV-B, a hepatitis B vaccine for prevention of infection caused by all known subtypes of hepatitis B virus in age 18 years and older in the United States and Europe.