Vaxcyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCVX) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” by Analysts

Vaxcyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCVX) has earned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the eight research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $145.71.

PCVX has been the topic of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Vaxcyte in a report on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $135.00 target price on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Vaxcyte in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $140.00 target price on shares of Vaxcyte in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th.

Insider Activity at Vaxcyte

In related news, CEO Grant Pickering sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were 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 $46,490,093.58. This represents a 3.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Andrew Guggenhime sold 42,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.39, for a total transaction of $4,846,380.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 90,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,429,294.37. The trade was a 31.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 113,732 shares of company stock valued at $11,730,787 over the last ninety days. 3.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vaxcyte

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Vaxcyte by 15.8% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 74,907 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,132,000 after purchasing an additional 10,243 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co acquired a new stake in Vaxcyte during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,433,000. Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Vaxcyte during the 4th quarter worth approximately $301,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Vaxcyte by 186.2% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 52,702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,022,000 after purchasing an additional 34,287 shares during the period. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lifted its holdings in Vaxcyte by 26.9% during the 3rd quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 312,425 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,701,000 after buying an additional 66,183 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.78% of the company’s stock.

Vaxcyte Trading Up 0.0 %

Vaxcyte stock opened at $81.08 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.63 and a beta of 0.98. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $90.20 and its 200-day moving average is $93.53. Vaxcyte has a 12 month low of $58.10 and a 12 month high of $121.06.

Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported ($0.83) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.10) by $0.27. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.91) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Vaxcyte will post -4.14 earnings per share 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.