Franklin Resources Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Vaxcyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCVX)

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Vaxcyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCVX - Free Report) by 13.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,786,335 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 324,560 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 2.24% of Vaxcyte worth $315,162,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of PCVX. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in Vaxcyte during the second quarter valued at approximately $202,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in Vaxcyte in the 2nd quarter worth $213,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. bought a new position in Vaxcyte in the 2nd quarter worth $342,000. Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in Vaxcyte by 4.7% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 69,437 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,243,000 after purchasing an additional 3,105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Vaxcyte by 64.8% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,099 shares of the company's stock valued at $158,000 after purchasing an additional 825 shares during the period. 96.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Vaxcyte Stock Down 0.2 %

PCVX stock traded down $0.15 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $87.72. The company had a trading volume of 977,015 shares, compared to its average volume of 904,422. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $101.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $91.68. Vaxcyte, Inc. has a 12-month low of $53.83 and a 12-month high of $121.06. The company has a market capitalization of $10.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -19.07 and a beta of 0.94.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $140.00 price objective on shares of Vaxcyte in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Vaxcyte from $108.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Vaxcyte in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Vaxcyte from $113.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Vaxcyte from $101.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $147.50.

Insider Activity at Vaxcyte

In related news, CFO Andrew Guggenhime sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.94, for a total value of $927,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 90,383 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,479,005.02. This trade represents a 8.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Grant Pickering sold 15,000 shares of Vaxcyte stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.82, for a total value of $1,602,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 435,219 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $46,490,093.58. This represents a 3.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 117,830 shares of company stock valued at $12,600,310. 3.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.