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

Shares of Vaxcyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCVX) have earned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the nine analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Nine 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 $147.50.

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $160.00 price target on shares of Vaxcyte in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Vaxcyte in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $135.00 target price for the company. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $140.00 price target on shares of Vaxcyte in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vaxcyte news, Director Teri Loxam sold 6,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.11, for a total transaction of $531,937.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,175 shares in the company, valued at $610,664.25. This trade represents a 46.55 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew Guggenhime sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.51, for a total value of $692,080.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 109,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,472,066.41. The trade was a 6.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 46,250 shares of company stock worth $3,840,018 in the last quarter. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vaxcyte

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vaxcyte during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in Vaxcyte by 188.4% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 398 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI bought a new stake in Vaxcyte during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Vaxcyte by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 742 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in shares of Vaxcyte by 77,500.0% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 776 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 775 shares during the last quarter. 96.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Vaxcyte Stock Performance

Shares of PCVX stock opened at $74.66 on Friday. Vaxcyte has a 52-week low of $58.10 and a 52-week high of $121.06. The stock has a market cap of $9.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.23 and a beta of 1.02. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $81.41 and its 200-day moving average is $94.10.

Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The company reported ($1.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.16) by $0.14. Sell-side analysts predict that Vaxcyte will post -4.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Vaxcyte

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.