Needham & Company LLC Reiterates “Buy” Rating for Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX)

Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by Needham & Company LLC in a research report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $110.00 target price on the stock. Needham & Company LLC’s target price points to a potential upside of 95.69% from the company’s current price.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Wall Street Zen raised Vaxcyte from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Zacks Research raised Vaxcyte from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Vaxcyte in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $98.00.

Vaxcyte Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PCVX traded down $0.69 on Friday, hitting $56.21. 947,289 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,379,749. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $58.58 and its 200 day moving average is $56.19. The company has a market capitalization of $8.36 billion, a PE ratio of -7.37 and a beta of 1.22. Vaxcyte has a 1-year low of $31.89 and a 1-year high of $65.00.

Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported ($1.97) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($2.06) by $0.09. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($1.22) EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Vaxcyte will post -7.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Vaxcyte

In other news, insider Harpreet S. Dhaliwal sold 17,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.00, for a total value of $935,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 76,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,221,580. The trade was a 18.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Jim Wassil sold 1,334 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.52, for a total value of $79,399.68. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 145,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,656,291.20. The trade was a 0.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 65,890 shares of company stock valued at $3,683,224 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vaxcyte

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PCVX. First Light Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Vaxcyte by 143.4% during the 2nd quarter. First Light Asset Management LLC now owns 345,157 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,064,000 after acquiring an additional 203,373 shares during the period. Engineers Gate Manager LP acquired a new stake in Vaxcyte during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,906,000. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in Vaxcyte by 72.8% during the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 560 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in Vaxcyte by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 33,755 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,962,000 after acquiring an additional 1,394 shares during the period. Finally, Nykredit A S acquired a new stake in Vaxcyte during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $280,000. 96.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vaxcyte Company Profile

Vaxcyte, Inc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing vaccines to prevent serious bacterial infections. The company’s lead programs target pneumococcal disease, which can cause pneumonia, meningitis, bloodstream infections and other invasive illnesses. Vaxcyte is developing broad-spectrum pneumococcal conjugate vaccine candidates designed to protect against a wide range of bacterial serotypes.

Vaxcyte’s pipeline has included VAX-24, an investigational 24-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, and VAX-31, a next-generation candidate designed to cover 31 serotypes.