Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) Hits New 1-Year Low – Should You Sell?

Vaxcyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCVX) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $30.12 and last traded at $37.76, with a volume of 13995362 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $69.46.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on PCVX shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Vaxcyte in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $135.00 price objective on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $140.00 price target on shares of Vaxcyte in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $160.00 price target on shares of Vaxcyte in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $147.50.

Vaxcyte Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $4.86 billion, a PE ratio of -8.21 and a beta of 1.02. The business’s fifty day moving average is $79.12 and its 200-day moving average is $91.83.

Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The company reported ($1.02) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.16) by $0.14. Analysts forecast that Vaxcyte, Inc. will post -4.21 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Jim Wassil sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.66, for a total value of $669,280.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 205,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,208,443.70. The trade was a 3.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 have sold 46,250 shares of company stock valued at $3,840,018 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vaxcyte

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in Vaxcyte by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 3,307 shares of the company’s stock valued at $271,000 after buying an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Bridgefront Capital LLC grew its stake in Vaxcyte by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Bridgefront Capital LLC now owns 4,244 shares of the company’s stock valued at $347,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Vaxcyte by 188.4% during the 4th 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. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd lifted its stake in Vaxcyte by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd now owns 18,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,506,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in Vaxcyte in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. 96.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.