Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) Sees Strong Trading Volume After Analyst Upgrade

Vaxcyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCVX) saw strong trading volume on Thursday after Bank of America raised their price target on the stock from $101.00 to $140.00. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the stock. 494,716 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 38% from the previous session’s volume of 797,695 shares.The stock last traded at $112.18 and had previously closed at $109.15.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. BTIG Research increased their price objective on shares of Vaxcyte from $98.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on Vaxcyte from $95.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Vaxcyte from $108.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Vaxcyte in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, Leerink Partners lifted their price target on Vaxcyte from $106.00 to $153.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vaxcyte presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.83.

Insider Activity

In other Vaxcyte news, SVP Elvia Cowan sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.67, for a total transaction of $538,350.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 12,723 shares in the company, valued at $1,369,885.41. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, COO Jim Wassil sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.93, for a total transaction of $1,119,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 207,503 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,225,810.79. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Elvia Cowan sold 5,000 shares of Vaxcyte stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.67, for a total value of $538,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 12,723 shares in the company, valued at $1,369,885.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 85,283 shares of company stock worth $7,271,218 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vaxcyte

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Vaxcyte by 15.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,737,254 shares of the company’s stock worth $665,152,000 after purchasing an additional 1,284,883 shares in the last quarter. RA Capital Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Vaxcyte by 4.0% during the first quarter. RA Capital Management L.P. now owns 8,203,754 shares of the company’s stock worth $560,398,000 after buying an additional 312,500 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in shares of Vaxcyte by 9.9% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 7,673,868 shares of the company’s stock valued at $524,117,000 after buying an additional 692,492 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in shares of Vaxcyte by 20.4% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 4,140,521 shares of the company’s stock worth $282,839,000 after buying an additional 700,414 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Vaxcyte by 18.6% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,176,181 shares of the company’s stock worth $216,966,000 after buying an additional 498,359 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.78% of the company’s stock.

Vaxcyte Stock Down 0.5 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $12.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -26.07 and a beta of 0.97. The business’s 50-day moving average is $81.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $73.53.

Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported ($1.10) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.98) by ($0.12). During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.70) earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Vaxcyte, Inc. will post -4.33 EPS for the current fiscal 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.