Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) Given “Buy” Rating at BTIG Research

Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by equities researchers at BTIG Research in a research report issued on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports. They presently have a $89.00 price objective on the stock. BTIG Research’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 33.43% from the company’s current price.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Guggenheim increased their target price on Vaxcyte from $116.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Vaxcyte from $133.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Vaxcyte in a report on Friday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Vaxcyte from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Vaxcyte from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $108.60.

Vaxcyte Trading Down 9.6%

PCVX stock traded down $7.12 on Monday, hitting $66.70. The company had a trading volume of 10,095,060 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,489,331. Vaxcyte has a 12-month low of $39.87 and a 12-month high of $90.75. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $59.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $56.31. The stock has a market cap of $9.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.74 and a beta of 1.23.

Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported ($1.97) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($2.06) by $0.09. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($1.22) EPS. Research analysts forecast that Vaxcyte will post -7.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Grant Pickering sold 16,198 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.63, for a total value of $901,094.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 453,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,214,130.61. This represents a 3.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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, insider Harpreet Dhaliwal sold 17,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.00, for a total transaction of $935,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 76,756 shares in the company, valued at $4,221,580. The trade was a 18.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 55,890 shares of company stock worth $3,111,189 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vaxcyte

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. First Light Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vaxcyte by 143.4% during the 2nd quarter. First Light Asset Management LLC now owns 345,157 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,064,000 after acquiring an additional 203,373 shares in the last quarter. NEXTBio Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Vaxcyte in the fourth quarter worth $4,406,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Vaxcyte during the fourth quarter valued at $56,703,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Vaxcyte by 73.4% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,216,843 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,711,000 after purchasing an additional 515,209 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Elmind Capital LP bought a new position in Vaxcyte during the fourth quarter valued at $13,450,000. 96.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Vaxcyte News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Vaxcyte this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Vaxcyte reported that its 31-valent pneumococcal vaccine candidate, VAX-31, met all prespecified primary endpoints in the pivotal OPUS-1 Phase 3 trial across the age groups studied. The results showed immune responses comparable to Pfizer’s Prevnar 20 and/or Merck’s Capvaxive, strengthening the case that VAX-31 could compete in the adult pneumococcal vaccine market. Vaxcyte Reports Positive Topline Data
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts responded favorably: Jefferies described the results as a potential “blue-sky” outcome and estimated the addressable adult pneumococcal vaccine market at roughly $3 billion to $6 billion or more. Needham raised its price target to $122 from $110 and maintained a buy rating, while BTIG reaffirmed its buy rating with an $89 target. Needham Raises Price Target
• Neutral Sentiment: Options activity has been elevated, with call buying on Monday followed by unusually heavy put buying on Tuesday. The activity signals increased speculation and hedging around the clinical and financing developments, but does not establish a clear directional outlook.
• Negative Sentiment: Vaxcyte launched separate offerings totaling approximately $1 billion: $500 million of common stock and pre-funded warrants, plus $500 million of convertible senior notes due 2032. Underwriters may purchase an additional $75 million of stock and $75 million of notes. The equity issuance creates near-term dilution, while the convertible debt adds potential future dilution and financing obligations. Vaxcyte Announces Proposed Offerings

Vaxcyte Company Profile

Vaxcyte, Inc (NASDAQ: PCVX) is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing vaccines to help prevent serious bacterial infections. The company uses its cell-free protein synthesis and advanced conjugation technologies to design vaccines intended to provide broad and durable protection while addressing limitations of existing vaccine products.

Vaxcyte’s lead programs are pneumococcal conjugate vaccine candidates, including VAX-24 and VAX-31, which are designed to target a broad range of pneumococcal serotypes.