Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) Earns "Overweight" Rating from Cantor Fitzgerald

Key Points

• Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed its “Overweight” rating on Vaxcyte and set a $120 price target, implying approximately 68% upside from the reported share price.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: seven analysts rate the stock a Buy, one rates it Hold, and one rates it Sell, producing a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $110.50.
• Vaxcyte shares opened at $71.38, while the clinical-stage biotech reported a quarterly loss of $1.97 per share, narrower than the expected $2.06 loss; insiders sold $6.3 million of stock over the prior three months.

Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "overweight" rating reaffirmed by stock analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $120.00 price target on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald's price target would indicate a potential upside of 68.11% from the company's current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Vaxcyte from $116.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Zacks Research raised Vaxcyte from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Wall Street Zen raised Vaxcyte from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $89.00 price target on shares of Vaxcyte in a report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on Vaxcyte from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $110.50.

Vaxcyte Stock Performance

Shares of PCVX stock opened at $71.38 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $56.67. Vaxcyte has a 12 month low of $39.87 and a 12 month high of $90.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.62 billion, a PE ratio of -9.36 and a beta of 1.23.

Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported ($1.97) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($2.06) by $0.09. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($1.22) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Vaxcyte will post -7.60 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Vaxcyte

In other Vaxcyte news, CEO Grant Pickering sold 16,198 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.63, for a total value of $901,094.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 453,247 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,214,130.61. This represents a 3.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Jim Wassil sold 18,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.74, for a total transaction of $1,561,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 145,435 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,615,031.90. The trade was a 11.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 92,890 shares of company stock valued at $6,320,569 over the last three months. Insiders own 3.30% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vaxcyte

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in Vaxcyte by 4.0% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 4,151 shares of the company's stock valued at $241,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in Vaxcyte by 27.6% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,344 shares of the company's stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 291 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Vaxcyte by 7.0% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,275 shares of the company's stock valued at $307,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares during the period. 96.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Vaxcyte

Vaxcyte, Inc NASDAQ: PCVX is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing vaccines to help prevent serious bacterial infections. The company uses its cell-free protein synthesis and advanced conjugation technologies to design vaccines intended to provide broad and durable protection while addressing limitations of existing vaccine products.

Vaxcyte's lead programs are pneumococcal conjugate vaccine candidates, including VAX-24 and VAX-31, which are designed to target a broad range of pneumococcal serotypes.

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