Vaxcyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCVX) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Vaxcyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCVX) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has issued a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $86.00.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Vaxcyte from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. BTIG Research increased their price target on shares of Vaxcyte from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Vaxcyte in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Vaxcyte in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Elvia Cowan sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $180,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 28,975 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,738,500. This represents a 9.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Jim Wassil sold 2,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.52, for a total transaction of $111,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 158,494 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,848,622.88. This represents a 1.40% 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 9,392 shares of company stock worth $524,426. Company insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PCVX. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of Vaxcyte by 115.2% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 29,471 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,113,000 after acquiring an additional 15,774 shares in the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Vaxcyte in the 1st quarter worth about $219,000. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new stake in Vaxcyte in the 1st quarter valued at about $226,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in Vaxcyte by 8.7% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 513,998 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,409,000 after purchasing an additional 41,034 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in shares of Vaxcyte by 13.8% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 7,681 shares of the company’s stock worth $250,000 after purchasing an additional 932 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.78% of the company’s stock.

Vaxcyte Stock Performance

PCVX opened at $47.46 on Monday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $54.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $52.69. Vaxcyte has a 52-week low of $29.08 and a 52-week high of $65.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.85 billion, a PE ratio of -6.90 and a beta of 1.24.

Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($2.30) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.74) by ($0.56). During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($1.04) earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Vaxcyte will post -7.56 earnings per share for the current year.

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.