Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) Stock Price Up 3.9% – Here’s Why

Shares of Vaxcyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCVX) traded up 3.9% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $47.27 and last traded at $47.1860. 207,483 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 1,716,192 shares. The stock had previously closed at $45.41.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on PCVX shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Vaxcyte in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Vaxcyte in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Leerink Partners set a $77.00 target price on shares of Vaxcyte and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Vaxcyte in a research report on Friday, September 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $38.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vaxcyte has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $97.83.

Vaxcyte Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $6.09 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.60 and a beta of 1.28. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $45.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.48.

Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported ($1.56) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.27) by ($0.29). During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.83) EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Vaxcyte, Inc. will post -4.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Elvia Cowan sold 11,623 shares of Vaxcyte stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.92, for a total transaction of $556,974.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 14,534 shares in the company, valued at approximately $696,469.28. The trade was a 44.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vaxcyte

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new position in Vaxcyte in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in shares of Vaxcyte by 148.9% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,222 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 731 shares during the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of Vaxcyte during the third quarter worth approximately $45,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Vaxcyte by 22,500.0% during the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,356 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 1,350 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Vaxcyte by 197.3% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,680 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 1,115 shares during the last quarter. 96.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Vaxcyte

Vaxcyte, Inc (NASDAQ: PCVX) is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing a new generation of preventive vaccines aimed at combating serious bacterial diseases. Headquartered in San Carlos, California, Vaxcyte leverages proprietary conjugation technologies to design and manufacture multivalent vaccines targeting pathogens for which there remain significant unmet medical needs. The company’s platform is intended to streamline the production of conjugate vaccines by improving antigen presentation and broadening strain coverage compared with conventional approaches.

Vaxcyte’s lead candidate, VAX-24, is a 24-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine designed to protect against 24 serotypes of Streptococcus pneumoniae.