Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) COO Sells $435,417.60 in Stock

Key Points

• COO Jim Wassil sold 7,395 shares at an average price of $58.88 for a total of $435,417.60, reducing his stake by 4.24% to 166,818 shares (about $9.82M); the sale was disclosed in an SEC filing.
• Shares traded at $57.53 (down $0.71) with a market cap of $8.28B, and the company reported a quarterly EPS of ($1.80), missing estimates and contributing to a negative PE and a forecasted -4.21 EPS for the year.
• Analysts are generally bullish with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $94.50, while institutional investors own roughly 96.78% of the stock.

Vaxcyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCVX - Get Free Report) COO Jim Wassil sold 7,395 shares of Vaxcyte stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.88, for a total transaction of $435,417.60. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 166,818 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,822,243.84. This represents a 4.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Vaxcyte Price Performance

Shares of PCVX stock traded down $0.71 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $57.53. The company had a trading volume of 696,500 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,402,211. The company's fifty day moving average is $53.49 and its 200 day moving average is $45.47. Vaxcyte, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $27.66 and a fifty-two week high of $76.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.28 billion, a PE ratio of -10.24 and a beta of 1.31.

Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported ($1.80) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.46) by ($0.34). During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($1.12) EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Vaxcyte, Inc. will post -4.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on PCVX. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on 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 note on Tuesday. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on Vaxcyte from $90.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $116.00 price target on shares of Vaxcyte in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Vaxcyte in a research report on Friday, January 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $94.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vaxcyte

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PCVX. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Vaxcyte by 156.2% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 597 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 364 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its holdings in Vaxcyte by 1,463.4% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 641 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Vaxcyte by 33.0% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 741 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in Vaxcyte by 148.9% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,222 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 731 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in Vaxcyte in the 3rd quarter valued at about $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.78% of the company's stock.

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.

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