Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) Earns Buy Rating from 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 to clients and investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $110.00 target price on the stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 95.22% from the stock’s current price.

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

Vaxcyte Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PCVX traded down $0.55 on Friday, hitting $56.35. 532,133 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,377,290. 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 $8.38 billion, a PE ratio of -7.41 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 Buying and Selling

In other Vaxcyte news, 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 transaction of $79,399.68. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 145,435 shares of the company’s stock, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.89, for a total value of $538,900.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 105,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,667,934.64. The trade was a 8.68% 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. Insiders sold a total of 65,890 shares of company stock valued at $3,683,224 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vaxcyte

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in Vaxcyte by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 4,151 shares of the company’s stock valued at $241,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Vaxcyte by 33.0% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 741 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in Vaxcyte by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 8,335 shares of the company’s stock valued at $484,000 after buying an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in Vaxcyte by 72.8% during the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 560 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in Vaxcyte by 27.6% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,344 shares of the company’s stock valued at $78,000 after buying an additional 291 shares during the last quarter. 96.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.