Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.09 EPS

Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported ($1.97) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($2.06) by $0.09, FiscalAI reports. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($1.22) earnings per share.

Vaxcyte Price Performance

PCVX traded down $0.82 during trading on Friday, hitting $58.07. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,296,245 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,427,569. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $53.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $55.19. Vaxcyte has a twelve month low of $29.29 and a twelve month high of $65.00. The stock has a market cap of $8.39 billion, a PE ratio of -7.61 and a beta of 1.23.

Insider Activity at Vaxcyte

In related news, COO Jim Wassil sold 2,250 shares of Vaxcyte stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.52, for a total value of $111,420.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 158,494 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,848,622.88. This trade represents a 1.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Grant Pickering sold 22,461 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.50, for a total value of $1,179,202.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 474,703 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,921,907.50. This represents a 4.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 120,646 shares of company stock worth $6,570,810. 3.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vaxcyte

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of Vaxcyte by 115.2% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 29,471 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,113,000 after buying an additional 15,774 shares in the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Vaxcyte during the 1st quarter valued at $219,000. Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new stake in Vaxcyte during the 1st quarter worth $226,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in Vaxcyte by 8.7% during the 1st 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 buying an additional 41,034 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in Vaxcyte by 13.8% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 7,681 shares of the company’s stock worth $250,000 after buying an additional 932 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.78% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on PCVX. Zacks Research downgraded Vaxcyte from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen lowered Vaxcyte from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Vaxcyte in a report on Monday, July 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.00.

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.