Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Vaxcyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCVX)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $52.82, but opened at $55.25. Vaxcyte shares last traded at $53.27, with a volume of 397,654 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PCVX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Leerink Partners set a $77.00 price objective on Vaxcyte and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Vaxcyte in a report on Friday, January 9th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on shares of Vaxcyte from $90.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Vaxcyte in a report on Monday, November 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $101.17.

Vaxcyte Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $6.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.61 and a beta of 1.34. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $47.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.67.

Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) last released its earnings results 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 firm earned ($0.83) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Vaxcyte, Inc. will post -4.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vaxcyte

In related news, insider Harpreet S. Dhaliwal sold 9,743 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.69, for a total value of $454,900.67. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 23,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,117,198.32. This represents a 28.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Elvia Cowan sold 11,623 shares of Vaxcyte stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.92, for a total value of $556,974.16. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 14,534 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $696,469.28. This represents a 44.44% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 3.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vaxcyte

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PCVX. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in Vaxcyte by 115.2% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 29,471 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,113,000 after buying an additional 15,774 shares during the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vaxcyte in the first quarter worth $219,000. Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new position in shares of Vaxcyte during the first quarter worth $226,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vaxcyte by 8.7% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 513,998 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,409,000 after purchasing an additional 41,034 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in Vaxcyte by 242.3% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,266 shares of the company’s stock valued at $106,000 after purchasing an additional 2,312 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.78% of the company’s stock.

Vaxcyte Company Profile

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.