Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) Trading Up 6.4% – Time to Buy?

Vaxcyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCVX)’s stock price rose 6.4% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $60.39 and last traded at $60.6080. 353,632 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 1,495,872 shares. The stock had previously closed at $56.96.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on PCVX shares. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Vaxcyte in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Wall Street Zen lowered Vaxcyte from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Vaxcyte in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vaxcyte presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.00.

Vaxcyte Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $8.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.80 and a beta of 1.22. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $52.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $53.47.

Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($2.30) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.74) by ($0.56). During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($1.04) EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Vaxcyte, Inc. will post -7.91 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Jim Wassil sold 2,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.33, for a total transaction of $126,742.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 156,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,830,290.80. This trade represents a 1.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Grant Pickering sold 2,000 shares of Vaxcyte stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.23, for a total transaction of $110,460.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 134,215 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,412,694.45. This trade represents a 1.47% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 75,448 shares of company stock worth $4,091,197 over the last 90 days. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vaxcyte

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Vaxcyte by 156.2% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 597 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 364 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its position in shares of Vaxcyte by 1,463.4% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 641 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Vaxcyte by 33.0% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 741 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in Vaxcyte by 148.9% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,222 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 731 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in Vaxcyte by 22,500.0% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,356 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 1,350 shares during the period. 96.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Vaxcyte

Vaxcyte, Inc (NASDAQ: PCVX) is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing a new generation of preventive vaccines aimed at combating serious bacterial diseases. Headquartered in San Carlos, California, Vaxcyte leverages proprietary conjugation technologies to design and manufacture multivalent vaccines targeting pathogens for which there remain significant unmet medical needs. The company’s platform is intended to streamline the production of conjugate vaccines by improving antigen presentation and broadening strain coverage compared with conventional approaches.

Vaxcyte’s lead candidate, VAX-24, is a 24-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine designed to protect against 24 serotypes of Streptococcus pneumoniae.