Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.56 EPS

Key Points

• Vaxcyte reported a quarterly loss of ($2.30) per share, missing the consensus loss of ($1.74) by ($0.56) and widening from a ($1.04) loss a year earlier.
• Shares rose $1.46 to $57.10 on the report (volume 1.6M), with a market cap of $8.24 billion and a 52-week range of $28.09–$65.00.
• Company insiders have been selling stock (17,037 shares sold in the last 90 days, ~$995k), leaving insiders with 3.10% ownership while hedge funds and institutional investors own about 96.78% of the shares.

Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX - Get Free Report) released its earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported ($2.30) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.74) by ($0.56), FiscalAI reports. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($1.04) EPS.

Vaxcyte Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PCVX traded up $1.46 on Wednesday, reaching $57.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,600,114 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,140,789. Vaxcyte has a 52-week low of $28.09 and a 52-week high of $65.00. The company has a market cap of $8.24 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.16 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $58.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $51.77.

Insider Transactions at Vaxcyte

In related news, 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 166,818 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,822,243.84. The trade was a 4.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Elvia Cowan sold 3,000 shares of Vaxcyte stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $180,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 28,975 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,738,500. This represents a 9.38% 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 17,037 shares of company stock valued at $994,899. 3.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vaxcyte

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in shares of Vaxcyte by 13.8% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 7,681 shares of the company's stock worth $250,000 after purchasing an additional 932 shares during the period. Amundi purchased a new position in shares of Vaxcyte during the 4th quarter worth about $235,000. Farallon Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vaxcyte during the 4th quarter worth about $231,000. Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new position in shares of Vaxcyte during the 1st quarter worth about $226,000. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vaxcyte during the 1st quarter worth about $219,000. 96.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Vaxcyte from a "sell" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. BTIG Research increased 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. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Vaxcyte in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $116.00 price target on shares of Vaxcyte in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on Vaxcyte from $90.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Vaxcyte has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $86.00.

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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