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

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 trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Vaxcyte Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $4.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.97 and a beta of 1.02. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $80.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $92.37.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Andrew Guggenhime sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.51, for a total transaction of $692,080.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 109,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,472,066.41. This trade represents a 6.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Teri Loxam sold 6,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was 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 $610,664.25. The trade was a 46.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 46,250 shares of company stock worth $3,840,018 over the last 90 days. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vaxcyte

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in Vaxcyte by 17.5% in the fourth quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 105,052 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,600,000 after acquiring an additional 15,616 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in Vaxcyte in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $8,487,000. Forum Financial Management LP purchased a new position in Vaxcyte in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $255,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new position in Vaxcyte during the fourth quarter valued at $214,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in Vaxcyte by 15.8% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 472,964 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,717,000 after buying an additional 64,690 shares during the last quarter. 96.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.