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

Key Points

• Analysts' consensus: Ten analysts give Vaxcyte a "Moderate Buy" consensus (1 sell, 1 hold, 7 buy, 1 strong buy) with an average 12‑month price target of $94.50.
• Insider selling: Senior executives Elvia Cowan and Harpreet Dhaliwal sold 11,623 and 9,743 shares at about $47.92 and $46.69 respectively, and insiders now own 3.10% of the company.
• Financial/stock snapshot: Shares opened at $59.29 with a $8.53B market cap, the company reported an EPS miss of ($1.80) vs. ($1.46) expected for the quarter, and analysts forecast roughly -4.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vaxcyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCVX - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the ten analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has issued a hold recommendation, seven have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $94.50.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on PCVX shares. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $116.00 price objective on shares of Vaxcyte in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on shares of Vaxcyte from $90.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Leerink Partners set a $77.00 target price on Vaxcyte and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. BTIG Research lifted their price target on Vaxcyte from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Vaxcyte in a report on Friday, January 9th.

Insider Activity at Vaxcyte

In other Vaxcyte news, SVP Elvia Cowan sold 11,623 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.92, for a total transaction of $556,974.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 14,534 shares of the company's stock, valued at $696,469.28. This represents a 44.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Harpreet S. Dhaliwal sold 9,743 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.69, for a total transaction of $454,900.67. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 23,928 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,117,198.32. This represents a 28.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 3.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Vaxcyte by 156.2% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 597 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 364 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Vaxcyte by 1,463.4% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 641 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Vaxcyte by 33.0% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 741 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in shares of Vaxcyte by 148.9% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,222 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 731 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in Vaxcyte during the third quarter worth about $45,000. Institutional investors own 96.78% of the company's stock.

Vaxcyte Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of Vaxcyte stock opened at $59.29 on Friday. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $52.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $44.91. The company has a market capitalization of $8.53 billion, a PE ratio of -10.55 and a beta of 1.31. Vaxcyte has a 12 month low of $27.66 and a 12 month high of $76.61.

Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported ($1.80) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.46) by ($0.34). During the same period last year, the company earned ($1.12) earnings per share. Analysts predict that Vaxcyte will post -4.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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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