Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) Earns Buy Rating from Needham & Company LLC

Key Points

• Needham reaffirmed its Buy rating on Vaxcyte and set a $110 price target, implying approximately 93% upside from the stock’s $56.90 price. The broader analyst consensus is “Moderate Buy,” with an average target of $98.
• Vaxcyte reported quarterly EPS of -$1.97, beating the consensus estimate of -$2.06, though analysts expect a full-year loss of approximately $7.60 per share.
• Institutional ownership remains high at 96.78%, with several funds increasing their positions, while company insiders sold 65,890 shares worth about $3.68 million over the past quarter under pre-arranged trading plans.

Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating restated by analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $110.00 price objective on the stock. Needham & Company LLC's price target points to a potential upside of 93.32% from the stock's current price.

PCVX has been the topic of several other research reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Vaxcyte from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Vaxcyte from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Vaxcyte in a report on Monday, July 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $98.00.

Vaxcyte Stock Up 0.7%

Vaxcyte stock opened at $56.90 on Friday. Vaxcyte has a 52 week low of $31.89 and a 52 week high of $65.00. The company's 50 day moving average price is $58.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $56.19. The stock has a market cap of $8.47 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.46 and a beta of 1.22.

Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported ($1.97) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($2.06) by $0.09. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($1.22) EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Vaxcyte will post -7.6 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Vaxcyte

In related news, 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 sale, the insider owned 76,756 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,221,580. The trade was a 18.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.65, for a total transaction of $111,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 133,215 shares in the company, valued at $7,413,414.75. This trade represents a 1.48% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 65,890 shares of company stock worth $3,683,224. Company insiders own 3.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PCVX. First Light Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Vaxcyte by 143.4% during the second quarter. First Light Asset Management LLC now owns 345,157 shares of the company's stock valued at $20,064,000 after buying an additional 203,373 shares during the period. Engineers Gate Manager LP purchased a new stake in Vaxcyte during the second quarter valued at about $1,906,000. IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in shares of Vaxcyte by 72.8% during the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 560 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Vaxcyte by 4.3% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 33,755 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,962,000 after acquiring an additional 1,394 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nykredit A S bought a new position in shares of Vaxcyte during the second quarter valued at about $280,000. 96.78% of the stock is currently 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.