Fred Alger Management LLC Reduces Stake in Vaxcyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCVX)

Fred Alger Management LLC lessened its stake in Vaxcyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCVX - Free Report) by 5.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,243,717 shares of the company's stock after selling 66,719 shares during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC owned about 1.00% of Vaxcyte worth $142,120,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Driehaus Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Vaxcyte by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 1,934,747 shares of the company's stock valued at $146,093,000 after buying an additional 66,940 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Vaxcyte by 47.9% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,295,837 shares of the company's stock valued at $148,075,000 after acquiring an additional 419,600 shares during the last quarter. Novo Holdings A S boosted its holdings in shares of Vaxcyte by 12.4% during the second quarter. Novo Holdings A S now owns 950,000 shares of the company's stock worth $71,734,000 after purchasing an additional 105,000 shares during the period. Maverick Capital Ltd. increased its holdings in Vaxcyte by 93.7% during the 2nd quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 687,908 shares of the company's stock valued at $51,944,000 after purchasing an additional 332,777 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Vaxcyte by 14.3% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 527,594 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,839,000 after purchasing an additional 65,870 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.78% of the company's stock.

Vaxcyte Price Performance

NASDAQ PCVX traded up $0.36 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $94.34. 809,063 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 906,580. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $105.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $90.19. Vaxcyte, Inc. has a 52-week low of $50.04 and a 52-week high of $121.06. The firm has a market cap of $11.76 billion, a PE ratio of -20.51 and a beta of 1.01.

Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported ($0.83) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.10) by $0.27. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.91) EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Vaxcyte, Inc. will post -4.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Vaxcyte

In related news, CFO Andrew Guggenhime sold 8,000 shares of Vaxcyte stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.94, for a total value of $927,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 90,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,479,005.02. This trade represents a 8.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Grant Pickering sold 2,366 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.89, for a total transaction of $245,803.74. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 137,398 shares in the company, valued at $14,274,278.22. This represents a 1.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 102,464 shares of company stock worth $11,455,576. Corporate insiders own 3.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on PCVX. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Vaxcyte in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Leerink Partners boosted their price objective on shares of Vaxcyte from $106.00 to $153.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Vaxcyte from $101.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $140.00 price target on shares of Vaxcyte in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Vaxcyte from $108.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $147.50.

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.