BTIG Research Reaffirms “Buy” Rating for Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX)

Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by equities researchers at BTIG Research in a research note issued to investors on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $89.00 target price on the stock. BTIG Research’s price target points to a potential upside of 20.56% from the company’s previous close.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on PCVX. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Vaxcyte from $133.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Vaxcyte in a research report on Friday. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on shares of Vaxcyte from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Vaxcyte from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Vaxcyte from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $108.60.

Vaxcyte Stock Performance

Shares of PCVX traded up $17.34 on Monday, hitting $73.82. 14,879,426 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,458,754. The company has a market capitalization of $10.98 billion, a PE ratio of -9.67 and a beta of 1.23. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $56.31. Vaxcyte has a one year low of $39.87 and a one year high of $90.75.

Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported ($1.97) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($2.06) by $0.09. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($1.22) EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Vaxcyte will post -7.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vaxcyte

In other news, COO Jim Wassil sold 3,477 shares of Vaxcyte stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.07, for a total transaction of $212,340.39. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 155,041 shares in the company, valued at $9,468,353.87. This trade represents a 2.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Andrew Guggenhime sold 10,000 shares of Vaxcyte stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.89, for a total transaction of $538,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 105,176 shares in the company, valued at $5,667,934.64. This represents a 8.68% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 55,890 shares of company stock worth $3,111,189. 3.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PCVX. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of Vaxcyte by 72.8% during the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 560 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Vaxcyte by 1,924.4% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 830 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 789 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vaxcyte during the 1st quarter worth $58,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vaxcyte by 68.4% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,248 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 507 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP purchased a new position in shares of Vaxcyte during the 2nd quarter worth $75,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.78% of the company’s stock.

Key Vaxcyte News

Here are the key news stories impacting Vaxcyte this week:

• Positive Sentiment: VAX-31 met all prespecified primary endpoints across the age groups studied, demonstrating immune responses comparable to Prevnar 20 and/or Capvaxive. The candidate also provided broader serotype coverage, supporting its potential differentiation in the adult pneumococcal vaccine market. Vaxcyte Reports Positive Topline Data from OPUS-1
• Positive Sentiment: The successful late-stage results improve the prospects that VAX-31 could capture meaningful share of an estimated $3 billion to $6 billion or larger adult pneumococcal vaccine market. Vaxcyte shares surge on late-stage vaccine trial success
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment strengthened: BTIG reaffirmed its buy rating with an $89 price target, while Needham raised its target to $122 from $110 and maintained a buy rating. These targets reflect increased confidence in Vaxcyte’s commercial potential. Vaxcyte price target update
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusually high call-option activity indicated strong speculative interest following the trial announcement, but options activity does not directly change the company’s fundamentals.
• Negative Sentiment: Vaxcyte announced proposed offerings totaling $500 million of common stock and pre-funded warrants plus $500 million of convertible senior notes due 2032, with potential additional purchases by underwriters. The capital could support VAX-31 development and commercialization, but the equity offering may dilute existing shareholders and the convertible debt adds financing risk. The offerings are subject to market conditions and may not be completed. Vaxcyte Announces Proposed Public 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.