Vaxcyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCVX) Stock Has Consensus Price Target of $98.00

Vaxcyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCVX) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $98.00.

PCVX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of Vaxcyte in a report on Friday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Vaxcyte in a report on Monday, July 6th. Wall Street Zen raised Vaxcyte from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Vaxcyte from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th.

Vaxcyte Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PCVX opened at $56.21 on Wednesday. Vaxcyte has a twelve month low of $31.89 and a twelve month high of $65.00. The company’s 50 day moving average is $58.58 and its 200 day moving average is $56.17. The company has a market cap of $8.36 billion, a PE ratio of -7.37 and a beta of 1.22.

Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported ($1.97) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($2.06) by $0.09. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($1.22) EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Vaxcyte will post -7.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Jim Wassil sold 1,334 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.52, for a total transaction of $79,399.68. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 145,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,656,291.20. This trade represents a 0.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Harpreet Dhaliwal sold 17,000 shares of Vaxcyte stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.00, for a total value of $935,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 76,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,221,580. This represents a 18.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 65,890 shares of company stock worth $3,683,224 over the last ninety days. 3.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vaxcyte

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PCVX. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in shares of Vaxcyte by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 4,151 shares of the company’s stock valued at $241,000 after buying an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in 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 during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in Vaxcyte by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 8,335 shares of the company’s stock worth $484,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings in Vaxcyte by 72.8% in the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 560 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in Vaxcyte by 27.6% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,344 shares of the company’s stock worth $78,000 after acquiring an additional 291 shares during the period. 96.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Vaxcyte

Vaxcyte, Inc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing vaccines to prevent serious bacterial infections. The company’s lead programs target pneumococcal disease, which can cause pneumonia, meningitis, bloodstream infections and other invasive illnesses. Vaxcyte is developing broad-spectrum pneumococcal conjugate vaccine candidates designed to protect against a wide range of bacterial serotypes.

Vaxcyte’s pipeline has included VAX-24, an investigational 24-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, and VAX-31, a next-generation candidate designed to cover 31 serotypes.