Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) Stock Rating Lowered by Zacks Research

Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) was downgraded by Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

PCVX has been the topic of a number of other reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Vaxcyte in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Vaxcyte from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.00.

Vaxcyte Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of PCVX opened at $56.74 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.19 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.25 and a beta of 1.22. Vaxcyte has a 12-month low of $29.08 and a 12-month high of $65.00. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $52.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $54.15.

Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($2.30) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.74) by ($0.56). During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($1.04) EPS. Analysts predict that Vaxcyte will post -7.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vaxcyte

In other Vaxcyte news, CFO Andrew Guggenhime sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.28, for a total transaction of $572,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 104,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,979,745.60. This trade represents a 8.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Jim Wassil sold 2,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.52, for a total transaction of $111,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 158,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,848,622.88. This represents a 1.40% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 75,448 shares of company stock valued at $4,091,197. Company insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vaxcyte

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in Vaxcyte by 23.8% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 16,575,875 shares of the company’s stock valued at $960,231,000 after acquiring an additional 3,188,687 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Vaxcyte by 35.9% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,296,333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $521,213,000 after acquiring an additional 2,981,038 shares during the period. Caligan Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Vaxcyte in the 4th quarter worth $78,660,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its position in shares of Vaxcyte by 418.0% in the 4th quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 1,725,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,592,000 after acquiring an additional 1,392,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Polar Capital Holdings Plc lifted its stake in shares of Vaxcyte by 302.6% during the 4th quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc now owns 1,672,783 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,182,000 after purchasing an additional 1,257,253 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.78% of the company’s stock.

About Vaxcyte

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.