Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) Shares Up 7.8% – Here’s What Happened

Vaxcyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCVX) shares were up 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 mid-day trading, a decline of 57% from the average daily volume of 883,805 shares. The stock had previously closed at $78.14.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Vaxcyte Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $10.63 billion, a PE ratio of -18.54 and a beta of 0.98. The company’s fifty day moving average is $88.51 and its 200-day moving average is $93.49.

Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) last issued its 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 prior year, the company posted ($0.91) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Vaxcyte, Inc. will post -4.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Grant Pickering sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.82, for a total transaction of $1,602,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 435,219 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,490,093.58. This trade represents a 3.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Andrew Guggenhime sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.78, for a total transaction of $710,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 109,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,720,610.98. The trade was a 6.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 77,982 shares of company stock worth $7,416,345 over the last quarter. Insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vaxcyte

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PCVX. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Vaxcyte in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Vaxcyte by 33.5% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 371 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Vaxcyte by 1,007.9% in the 3rd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 698 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 635 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Vaxcyte in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $92,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its position in shares of Vaxcyte by 51.9% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,048 shares of the company’s stock valued at $120,000 after purchasing an additional 358 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.