Brokerages Set Vaxcyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCVX) Price Target at $147.50

Vaxcyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCVX) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Buy” by the nine brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $147.50.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on PCVX shares. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Vaxcyte in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $135.00 price target for the company. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $160.00 target price on shares of Vaxcyte in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $140.00 target price on shares of Vaxcyte in a report on Wednesday, February 26th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vaxcyte

In other Vaxcyte news, CFO Andrew Guggenhime sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.51, for a total value of $692,080.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 109,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,472,066.41. This represents a 6.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Teri Loxam sold 6,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.11, for a total transaction of $531,937.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 7,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $610,664.25. This trade represents a 46.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 46,250 shares of company stock valued at $3,840,018 in the last quarter. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vaxcyte during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in Vaxcyte by 188.4% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 398 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI acquired a new stake in Vaxcyte in the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Vaxcyte by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 742 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. grew its position in shares of Vaxcyte by 77,500.0% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 776 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 775 shares in the last quarter. 96.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vaxcyte Trading Down 4.6 %

Vaxcyte stock opened at $68.56 on Friday. Vaxcyte has a 1-year low of $58.10 and a 1-year high of $121.06. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $80.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $93.16. The company has a market cap of $8.83 billion, a P/E ratio of -14.90 and a beta of 1.02.

Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The company reported ($1.02) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.16) by $0.14. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Vaxcyte will post -4.21 EPS for the current year.

Vaxcyte Company Profile

Vaxcyte, Inc, a clinical-stage biotechnology vaccine company, develops novel protein vaccines to prevent or treat bacterial infectious diseases. Its lead vaccine candidate is VAX-24, a 24-valent investigational pneumococcal conjugate vaccine for the prevention of invasive pneumococcal disease. The company also develops VAX-31 to protect against emerging strains and to help address antibiotic resistance; VAX-A1, a novel conjugate vaccine candidate to prevent disease caused by Group A Streptococcus; VAX-PG, a novel protein vaccine candidate targeting keystone pathogen responsible for periodontitis; and VAX-GI to prevent Shigella, a bacterial illness.