Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $25.29 Million Stake in Vaxcyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCVX)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Vaxcyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCVX) by 486.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 308,939 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 256,237 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.25% of Vaxcyte worth $25,290,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Vaxcyte by 33.5% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 371 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Vaxcyte by 1,007.9% in the third quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 698 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 635 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Vaxcyte in the third quarter worth $92,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in Vaxcyte by 51.9% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,048 shares of the company’s stock worth $120,000 after buying an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Values First Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Vaxcyte during the third quarter valued at about $174,000. Institutional investors own 96.78% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Teri Loxam sold 6,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.11, for a total transaction of $531,937.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 7,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $610,664.25. The trade was a 46.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Jim Wassil sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.66, for a total value of $669,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 205,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,208,443.70. This trade represents a 3.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 76,616 shares of company stock valued at $6,766,481. 3.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on PCVX. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Vaxcyte in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Vaxcyte in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $135.00 target price for the company. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $14.00 price target on shares of Vaxcyte in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $127.71.

Vaxcyte Stock Down 3.3 %

Shares of PCVX stock opened at $79.74 on Friday. Vaxcyte, Inc. has a 12 month low of $58.10 and a 12 month high of $121.06. The firm has a market cap of $9.94 billion, a PE ratio of -17.33 and a beta of 0.98. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $85.61 and a 200-day moving average of $94.76.

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.