Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) Sees Large Volume Increase – Here’s Why

Vaxcyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCVX) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Friday . Approximately 547,878 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 37% from the previous session’s volume of 867,590 shares.The stock last traded at $87.06 and had previously closed at $92.68.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Vaxcyte Stock Down 6.3 %

The firm’s 50 day moving average is $110.67 and its 200-day moving average is $88.65. The firm has a market cap of $10.82 billion, a PE ratio of -18.88 and a beta of 1.01.

Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported ($0.83) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.10) by $0.27. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.91) earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Vaxcyte, Inc. will post -4.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Vaxcyte

In other news, CEO Grant Pickering sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.98, for a total transaction of $1,184,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 478,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,822,574.24. This trade represents a 3.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew Guggenhime sold 8,000 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 90,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,479,005.02. This represents a 8.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 117,464 shares of company stock worth $12,640,276. Corporate insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vaxcyte

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Vaxcyte by 33.5% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 371 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vaxcyte by 5.2% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,209 shares of the company’s stock valued at $252,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Vaxcyte by 3.6% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 3,136 shares of the company’s stock valued at $358,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank raised its holdings in Vaxcyte by 4.2% during the second quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 3,759 shares of the company’s stock worth $284,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in Vaxcyte in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. 96.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.