Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Vaxcyte from a "sell" to a strong sell in a note to investors issued Sunday.
• Despite the downgrade, seven analysts have Buy ratings (one Hold, one Sell), leaving an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $86.00.
• Vaxcyte reported quarterly EPS of ($1.80), missing the ($1.46) consensus and with analysts forecasting -4.21 EPS for the year; insiders have sold about 14,787 shares in the past 90 days.

Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a note issued to investors on Sunday.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on PCVX. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price 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. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Vaxcyte in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Vaxcyte in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. BTIG Research increased their target price on shares of Vaxcyte from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $116.00 target price on shares of Vaxcyte in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $86.00.

Vaxcyte Stock Performance

PCVX opened at $60.88 on Friday. Vaxcyte has a fifty-two week low of $27.80 and a fifty-two week high of $65.00. The company has a fifty day moving average of $57.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $49.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.83 and a beta of 1.38.

Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported ($1.80) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.46) by ($0.34). During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($1.12) EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Vaxcyte will post -4.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vaxcyte

In other news, COO Jim Wassil sold 7,395 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.88, for a total value of $435,417.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 166,818 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,822,243.84. This trade represents a 4.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Elvia Cowan sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $180,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 28,975 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,738,500. This trade represents a 9.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 14,787 shares of company stock valued at $867,031 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 3.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Vaxcyte

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 364 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its position in Vaxcyte by 1,463.4% during 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 grew its holdings in shares of Vaxcyte by 33.0% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 741 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of Vaxcyte by 148.9% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,222 shares of the company's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 731 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Vaxcyte during the third quarter worth 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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