Vaxcyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCVX) Receives $147.50 Average PT from Analysts

Shares of Vaxcyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCVX) have been given an average rating of “Buy” by the nine research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $147.50.

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Vaxcyte in a report on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $135.00 price objective on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $140.00 price objective on shares of Vaxcyte in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $160.00 target price on shares of Vaxcyte in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th.

Vaxcyte Price Performance

Shares of Vaxcyte stock opened at $73.82 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $9.51 billion, a PE ratio of -16.05 and a beta of 1.02. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $81.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $93.61. Vaxcyte has a fifty-two week low of $58.10 and a fifty-two week high of $121.06.

Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The company reported ($1.02) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.16) by $0.14. Analysts expect that Vaxcyte will post -4.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Teri Loxam sold 6,250 shares of Vaxcyte stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.11, for a total value of $531,937.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $610,664.25. The trade was a 46.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Jim Wassil sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.66, for a total transaction of $669,280.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 205,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,208,443.70. This represents a 3.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 46,250 shares of company stock worth $3,840,018 in the last quarter. 3.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vaxcyte

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Atria Investments Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Vaxcyte in the third quarter valued at approximately $286,000. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in Vaxcyte by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 3,136 shares of the company’s stock valued at $358,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Vaxcyte by 61.1% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 22,697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,594,000 after buying an additional 8,606 shares during the period. Pathstone Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Vaxcyte by 7.6% during the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 30,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,488,000 after acquiring an additional 2,154 shares during the last quarter. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in shares of Vaxcyte during the third quarter valued at $1,189,000. 96.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Vaxcyte

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.