Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) Trading Up 4.1% – Here’s Why

Shares of Vaxcyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCVX) shot up 4.1% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $32.67 and last traded at $31.81. 2,079,177 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 89% from the average session volume of 1,102,116 shares. The stock had previously closed at $30.56.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PCVX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $160.00 price objective on shares of Vaxcyte in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Vaxcyte from $157.00 to $137.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Evercore ISI upgraded Vaxcyte to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Vaxcyte from $138.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC dropped their price objective on Vaxcyte from $140.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $136.50.

Vaxcyte Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $4.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.87 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a fifty day moving average of $74.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $89.66.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Teri Loxam sold 6,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.11, for a total value of $531,937.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 7,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $610,664.25. This represents a 46.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Jim Wassil sold 8,000 shares of Vaxcyte stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.27, for a total value of $586,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 154,931 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,351,794.37. This represents a 4.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 38,250 shares of company stock worth $3,170,738 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Vaxcyte by 17.5% in the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 105,052 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,600,000 after purchasing an additional 15,616 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in Vaxcyte during the fourth quarter valued at $8,487,000. Forum Financial Management LP acquired a new stake in Vaxcyte during the 4th quarter worth about $255,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new position in shares of Vaxcyte in the 4th quarter worth about $214,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vaxcyte by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 472,964 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,717,000 after purchasing an additional 64,690 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.78% of the company’s stock.

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.