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

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Vaxcyte from “strong sell” to “sell,” while the broader analyst consensus remains “Hold” with an average price target of $86.00.
• Vaxcyte reported quarterly EPS of -$1.97, beating the consensus estimate of -$2.06; analysts expect a full-year loss of approximately $7.91 per share.
• The stock opened at $58.07, with a 12-month range of $29.29 to $65.00 and an $8.39 billion market capitalization. Insiders sold $6.57 million worth of shares over the past three months, while institutional investors own 96.78% of the company.

Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a report released on Saturday.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Vaxcyte in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Zacks Research lowered Vaxcyte from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $86.00.

Vaxcyte Price Performance

PCVX opened at $58.07 on Friday. Vaxcyte has a 12-month low of $29.29 and a 12-month high of $65.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.39 billion, a PE ratio of -7.61 and a beta of 1.23. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $53.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $55.21.

Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported ($1.97) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($2.06) by $0.09. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($1.22) EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Vaxcyte will post -7.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vaxcyte

In other Vaxcyte news, COO Jim Wassil sold 2,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.52, for a total transaction of $111,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 158,494 shares in the company, valued at $7,848,622.88. The trade was a 1.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Andrew Guggenhime sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.28, for a total transaction of $572,800.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 104,395 shares in the company, valued at $5,979,745.60. This trade represents a 8.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 120,646 shares of company stock worth $6,570,810. Company insiders own 3.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vaxcyte

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PCVX. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in 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 during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Vaxcyte by 1,463.4% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 641 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of 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. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vaxcyte during the 1st quarter worth approximately $58,000. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vaxcyte by 22,500.0% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,356 shares of the company's stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 1,350 shares during the last quarter. 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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