Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) Given Buy Rating at Needham & Company LLC

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

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

Vaxcyte Stock Down 1.2%

NASDAQ:PCVX traded down $0.69 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $56.21. The stock had a trading volume of 947,289 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,379,749. The stock has a market cap of $8.36 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.37 and a beta of 1.22. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $58.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $56.19. Vaxcyte has a 12-month low of $31.89 and a 12-month high of $65.00.

Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported ($1.97) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($2.06) by $0.09. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($1.22) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vaxcyte will post -7.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vaxcyte

In other Vaxcyte news, EVP Jim Wassil sold 1,334 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.52, for a total transaction of $79,399.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 145,435 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,656,291.20. This trade represents a 0.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Andrew Guggenhime sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.89, for a total transaction of $538,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 105,176 shares in the company, valued at $5,667,934.64. This trade represents a 8.68% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 65,890 shares of company stock valued at $3,683,224 in the last quarter. Insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vaxcyte

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. First Light Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Vaxcyte by 143.4% in 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 purchased a new position in shares of Vaxcyte during the 2nd quarter worth $1,906,000. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Vaxcyte by 72.8% during the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 560 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in shares of Vaxcyte by 4.3% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 33,755 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,962,000 after purchasing an additional 1,394 shares during the period. Finally, Nykredit A S purchased a new stake in shares of Vaxcyte in the second quarter valued at $280,000. 96.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Vaxcyte

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.