Vaxcyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCVX) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” by Analysts

Vaxcyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCVX) has received a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the eight analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $145.71.

PCVX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Vaxcyte in a report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $135.00 target price for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Vaxcyte in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $140.00 price target on shares of Vaxcyte in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vaxcyte

In other news, CFO Andrew Guggenhime sold 42,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.39, for a total value of $4,846,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 90,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,429,294.37. This represents a 31.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mikhail Eydelman sold 5,000 shares of Vaxcyte stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.49, for a total value of $457,450.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 28,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,625,488.53. The trade was a 14.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 113,732 shares of company stock valued at $11,730,787. Corporate insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vaxcyte

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Vaxcyte by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 74,907 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,132,000 after acquiring an additional 10,243 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co bought a new stake in Vaxcyte in the 4th quarter worth about $1,433,000. Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Vaxcyte in the 4th quarter valued at about $301,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Vaxcyte by 186.2% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 52,702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,022,000 after buying an additional 34,287 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lifted its position in shares of Vaxcyte by 26.9% during the 3rd quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 312,425 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,701,000 after buying an additional 66,183 shares in the last quarter. 96.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Vaxcyte Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PCVX opened at $81.08 on Monday. Vaxcyte has a 52 week low of $58.10 and a 52 week high of $121.06. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $90.20 and its 200-day moving average is $93.53. The firm has a market cap of $10.11 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.63 and a beta of 0.98.

Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported ($0.83) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.10) by $0.27. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.91) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vaxcyte will post -4.14 earnings per share for the current year.

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.