Analysts Set Vaxcyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCVX) Target Price at $127.71

Shares of Vaxcyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCVX) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Buy” by the nine ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $147.50.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $140.00 price target on shares of Vaxcyte in a research report on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Vaxcyte in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $160.00 price target on shares of Vaxcyte in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Vaxcyte in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $135.00 target price for the company.

Vaxcyte Price Performance

PCVX opened at $73.02 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $84.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $94.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.40 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.87 and a beta of 0.98. Vaxcyte has a one year low of $58.10 and a one year high of $121.06.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vaxcyte news, CEO Grant Pickering sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.45, for a total transaction of $1,386,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 450,301 shares in the company, valued at $41,630,327.45. This represents a 3.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Jim Wassil sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.66, for a total transaction of $669,280.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 205,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,208,443.70. The trade was a 3.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 76,616 shares of company stock worth $6,766,481. Corporate insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vaxcyte

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Vaxcyte by 68.0% during the third quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 21,466 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,453,000 after buying an additional 8,685 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its position in Vaxcyte by 61.1% during the third 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. Diversified Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Vaxcyte during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,433,000. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC raised its stake in shares of Vaxcyte by 68.1% during the third quarter. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC now owns 32,515 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,715,000 after acquiring an additional 13,175 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Curi RMB Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Vaxcyte during the third quarter valued at about $903,000. 96.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.