Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) Stock Price Up 5.7% - Still a Buy?

Vaxcyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCVX - Get Free Report) was up 5.7% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $32.90 and last traded at $33.16. Approximately 397,700 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 1,393,126 shares. The stock had previously closed at $31.38.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PCVX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $160.00 price objective on shares of Vaxcyte in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Vaxcyte from $138.00 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Bank of America decreased their target price on Vaxcyte from $157.00 to $137.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Evercore ISI raised Vaxcyte to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Vaxcyte in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an "overweight" rating for the company. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $136.50.

Vaxcyte Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $4.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.09 and a beta of 1.27. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $34.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $66.98.

Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 14th. The company reported ($1.04) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.02) by ($0.02). During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.85) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Vaxcyte, Inc. will post -4.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Jim Wassil sold 8,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.27, for a total value of $586,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 154,931 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,351,794.37. The trade was a 4.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vaxcyte

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Vaxcyte by 125.1% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 835 shares of the company's stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 464 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its stake in Vaxcyte by 78.0% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,775 shares of the company's stock valued at $391,000 after purchasing an additional 2,092 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Vaxcyte by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 5,431 shares of the company's stock worth $440,000 after acquiring an additional 458 shares during the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Vaxcyte by 23.1% in the fourth quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 26,428 shares of the company's stock worth $2,163,000 after purchasing an additional 4,962 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Vaxcyte by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,246,551 shares of the company's stock worth $102,043,000 after purchasing an additional 9,121 shares in the last quarter. 96.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Vaxcyte Company Profile

Vaxcyte, Inc, a clinical-stage biotechnology vaccine company, develops novel protein vaccines to prevent or treat bacterial infectious diseases. Its lead vaccine candidate is VAX-24, a 24-valent investigational pneumococcal conjugate vaccine for the prevention of invasive pneumococcal disease. The company also develops VAX-31 to protect against emerging strains and to help address antibiotic resistance; VAX-A1, a novel conjugate vaccine candidate to prevent disease caused by Group A Streptococcus; VAX-PG, a novel protein vaccine candidate targeting keystone pathogen responsible for periodontitis; and VAX-GI to prevent Shigella, a bacterial illness.