Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) Stock Price Up 7.8% – Still a Buy?

Shares of Vaxcyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCVX) rose 7.8% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $84.27 and last traded at $84.26. Approximately 377,857 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 57% from the average daily volume of 883,805 shares. The stock had previously closed at $78.14.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on PCVX. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Vaxcyte in a report on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $135.00 price objective on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $140.00 price objective on shares of Vaxcyte in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Vaxcyte in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $145.71.

Vaxcyte Price Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $89.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $93.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.84 billion, a PE ratio of -18.90 and a beta of 0.98.

Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported ($0.83) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.10) by $0.27. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.91) earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Vaxcyte, Inc. will post -4.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vaxcyte news, CFO Andrew Guggenhime sold 42,000 shares of Vaxcyte stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.39, for a total transaction of $4,846,380.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 90,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,429,294.37. The trade was a 31.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Jim Wassil sold 8,000 shares of Vaxcyte stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.66, for a total transaction of $669,280.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 205,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,208,443.70. This represents a 3.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 113,732 shares of company stock valued at $11,730,787 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vaxcyte

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Vaxcyte during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Vaxcyte by 33.5% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 371 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vaxcyte during the second quarter valued at about $70,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Vaxcyte by 1,007.9% during the third quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 698 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 635 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Vaxcyte during the third quarter valued at about $92,000. 96.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.