Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 34,287 Shares of Vaxcyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCVX)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Vaxcyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCVX - Free Report) by 186.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 52,702 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 34,287 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Vaxcyte were worth $6,022,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in PCVX. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in Vaxcyte during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Vaxcyte by 33.5% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 371 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp bought a new stake in Vaxcyte in the second quarter worth approximately $35,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp lifted its stake in Vaxcyte by 649.4% in the second quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 607 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 526 shares during the period. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Vaxcyte in the second quarter worth $70,000. 96.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vaxcyte

In other news, SVP Mikhail Eydelman sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.27, for a total transaction of $546,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 28,623 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,127,635.21. This represents a 14.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jim Wassil sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.93, for a total value of $1,119,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 207,503 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,225,810.79. This trade represents a 4.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 117,464 shares of company stock worth $12,640,276 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.10% of the company's stock.

Vaxcyte Price Performance

NASDAQ PCVX traded up $3.89 during trading on Thursday, reaching $89.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 845,454 shares, compared to its average volume of 895,624. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $108.95 and a 200 day moving average of $89.11. Vaxcyte, Inc. has a one year low of $48.24 and a one year high of $121.06.

Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported ($0.83) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.10) by $0.27. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.91) EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Vaxcyte, Inc. will post -4.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on PCVX shares. Bank of America raised their price objective on Vaxcyte from $101.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Vaxcyte in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Mizuho upped their price target on Vaxcyte from $113.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Leerink Partners lifted their price objective on Vaxcyte from $106.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, BTIG Research upped their price objective on shares of Vaxcyte from $98.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus 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.