Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) Trading Up 7.4% – Time to Buy?

Shares of Vaxcyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCVX) rose 7.4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $49.13 and last traded at $49.4150. Approximately 145,780 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 958,200 shares. The stock had previously closed at $46.02.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on PCVX shares. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on Vaxcyte from $90.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Leerink Partners set a $77.00 price target on Vaxcyte and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Vaxcyte in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Finally, BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Vaxcyte in a report on Monday, November 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vaxcyte has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $101.17.

Vaxcyte Price Performance

The stock’s fifty day moving average is $46.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.49.

Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported ($1.56) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.27) by ($0.29). During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.83) earnings per share. Analysts expect that Vaxcyte, Inc. will post -4.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vaxcyte

In related news, insider Harpreet S. Dhaliwal sold 9,743 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.69, for a total value of $454,900.67. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 23,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,117,198.32. This represents a 28.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Elvia Cowan sold 11,623 shares of Vaxcyte stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.92, for a total transaction of $556,974.16. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 14,534 shares in the company, valued at $696,469.28. This represents a 44.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vaxcyte

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Vaxcyte in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,109,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP grew its holdings in shares of Vaxcyte by 42.4% in the second quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 3,068,898 shares of the company’s stock valued at $99,770,000 after acquiring an additional 913,761 shares in the last quarter. Deep Track Capital LP increased its position in shares of Vaxcyte by 39.5% during the third quarter. Deep Track Capital LP now owns 3,000,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,060,000 after acquiring an additional 850,000 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd bought a new stake in Vaxcyte during the second quarter worth $26,318,000. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its position in Vaxcyte by 12.1% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,942,235 shares of the company’s stock worth $160,672,000 after purchasing an additional 534,552 shares during the last quarter. 96.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Vaxcyte Company Profile

Vaxcyte, Inc (NASDAQ: PCVX) is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing a new generation of preventive vaccines aimed at combating serious bacterial diseases. Headquartered in San Carlos, California, Vaxcyte leverages proprietary conjugation technologies to design and manufacture multivalent vaccines targeting pathogens for which there remain significant unmet medical needs. The company’s platform is intended to streamline the production of conjugate vaccines by improving antigen presentation and broadening strain coverage compared with conventional approaches.

Vaxcyte’s lead candidate, VAX-24, is a 24-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine designed to protect against 24 serotypes of Streptococcus pneumoniae.