Vaxcyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCVX) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts give Vaxcyte a “Moderate Buy” consensus: Five of eight analysts recommend buying the stock, while two rate it a hold and one a sell. The average 12-month price target is $86, above the reported share price of $59.83.
• Vaxcyte reported quarterly earnings of -$1.97 per share, beating the consensus estimate of -$2.06; analysts expect a full-year loss of approximately $7.60 per share.
• Company insiders sold shares in recent months, including transactions by the CEO and COO under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans. Institutional investors and hedge funds own approximately 96.78% of Vaxcyte’s stock.

Shares of Vaxcyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCVX - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eight analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have issued a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $86.00.

PCVX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Zacks Research upgraded Vaxcyte from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Wall Street Zen raised Vaxcyte from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Vaxcyte in a report on Monday, July 6th.

Vaxcyte Price Performance

NASDAQ PCVX opened at $59.83 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.84 and a beta of 1.23. Vaxcyte has a 12 month low of $30.32 and a 12 month high of $65.00. The company's fifty day moving average price is $57.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $55.99.

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

Insider Transactions at Vaxcyte

In related news, COO Jim Wassil sold 2,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.86, for a total transaction of $121,185.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 157,541 shares in the company, valued at $8,485,158.26. This trade represents a 1.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available 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 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 133,215 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,413,414.75. This represents a 1.48% decrease in their position. 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 120,646 shares of company stock valued at $6,570,810. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PCVX. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Vaxcyte by 156.2% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 597 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 364 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings in Vaxcyte by 1,463.4% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 641 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Vaxcyte by 33.0% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 741 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in Vaxcyte by 22,500.0% in the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,356 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 1,350 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC acquired a new position in Vaxcyte in the first quarter valued at approximately $58,000. 96.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vaxcyte Company Profile

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.

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