California Public Employees Retirement System Cuts Stock Holdings in Vaxcyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCVX)

California Public Employees Retirement System trimmed its position in shares of Vaxcyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCVX) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 98,135 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,999 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Vaxcyte were worth $6,163,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Vaxcyte by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,284,246 shares of the company’s stock valued at $422,331,000 after acquiring an additional 47,872 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Vaxcyte by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,598,712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $234,442,000 after acquiring an additional 167,501 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in Vaxcyte by 20.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,754,691 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,454,000 after acquiring an additional 300,189 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new stake in Vaxcyte in the 3rd quarter valued at $51,180,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Vaxcyte by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 896,635 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,710,000 after acquiring an additional 35,694 shares during the period. 96.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Vaxcyte

In other Vaxcyte news, CEO Grant Pickering sold 15,000 shares of Vaxcyte stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.92, for a total transaction of $928,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 477,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,588,286.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, COO Jim Wassil sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.71, for a total transaction of $221,130.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 220,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,279,000.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Grant Pickering sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.92, for a total value of $928,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 477,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,588,286.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 63,294 shares of company stock worth $4,254,105 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $95.00 price target on shares of Vaxcyte in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Vaxcyte in a research note on Friday, January 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vaxcyte currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $78.50.

Vaxcyte Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of PCVX opened at $65.96 on Friday. Vaxcyte, Inc. has a 52-week low of $44.20 and a 52-week high of $82.04. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $66.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.91. The stock has a market cap of $7.15 billion, a PE ratio of -15.97 and a beta of 0.94.

Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported ($1.82) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.89) by ($0.93). During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.73) EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Vaxcyte, Inc. will post -4.18 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.