Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Vaxcyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCVX)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $69.46, but opened at $33.07. Vaxcyte shares last traded at $33.56, with a volume of 2,578,445 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PCVX. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $140.00 target price on shares of Vaxcyte in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Vaxcyte in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $135.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $160.00 price objective on shares of Vaxcyte in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Vaxcyte presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $147.50.

Vaxcyte Price Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average is $80.07 and its 200 day moving average is $92.37. The company has a market cap of $4.68 billion, a PE ratio of -7.97 and a beta of 1.02.

Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The company reported ($1.02) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.16) by $0.14. As a group, analysts anticipate that Vaxcyte, Inc. will post -4.21 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Vaxcyte

In other news, Director Teri Loxam sold 6,250 shares of Vaxcyte stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.11, for a total transaction of $531,937.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 7,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $610,664.25. The trade was a 46.55 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Jim Wassil sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.66, for a total value of $669,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 205,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,208,443.70. This represents a 3.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 46,250 shares of company stock valued at $3,840,018. Company insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vaxcyte

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vaxcyte during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Vaxcyte by 188.4% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 398 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI bought a new stake in shares of Vaxcyte in the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake 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. boosted 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.78% of the company’s stock.

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.