Vaxcyte’s (PCVX) “Buy” Rating Reaffirmed at BTIG Research

Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by equities researchers at BTIG Research in a research report issued on Monday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have a $89.00 price target on the stock. BTIG Research’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 32.92% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Vaxcyte from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Zacks Research raised shares of Vaxcyte from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Vaxcyte from $133.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 28th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Vaxcyte in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Vaxcyte from $116.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $108.60.

Vaxcyte Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:PCVX traded up $0.26 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $66.96. The stock had a trading volume of 11,561,129 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,556,958. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $59.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.49. The company has a market capitalization of $9.96 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.78 and a beta of 1.23. Vaxcyte has a fifty-two week low of $39.87 and a fifty-two week 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($2.06) by $0.09. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($1.22) EPS. Research analysts expect that Vaxcyte will post -8.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Andrew Guggenhime sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.89, for a total value of $538,900.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 105,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,667,934.64. This represents a 8.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Harpreet S. Dhaliwal sold 17,000 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 76,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,221,580. This represents 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 92,890 shares of company stock worth $6,320,569. Corporate insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vaxcyte

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vaxcyte in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,044,355,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of Vaxcyte by 23.8% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 16,575,875 shares of the company’s stock valued at $960,231,000 after purchasing an additional 3,188,687 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Vaxcyte in the 2nd quarter valued at $701,520,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 2,981,038 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Vaxcyte by 24.7% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,001,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $407,001,000 after acquiring an additional 1,386,968 shares during the period. 96.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Vaxcyte

Here are the key news stories impacting Vaxcyte this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Vaxcyte reported positive Phase 3 results for VAX-31, its investigational pneumococcal conjugate vaccine for adults. The result strengthens the company’s prospects in the adult pneumonia vaccine market and prompted bullish commentary that the program could support a “blue-sky” valuation scenario. Vaxcyte leaps on positive Phase III trial of VAX-31
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive following the trial update. BTIG reaffirmed its Buy rating, while Needham set a $122 price target, well above recent trading levels. The company is also expected to provide additional VAX-31 readouts during the first half of 2027. Needham price target
• Neutral Sentiment: Vaxcyte priced concurrent offerings consisting of 7.41 million common shares at $64 each, 400,000 pre-funded warrants, and $500 million of 1.50% convertible senior notes due 2032. The approximately $1 billion gross proceeds should strengthen funding for development and commercialization, although the equity and potentially convertible debt increase the share supply. Vaxcyte financing announcement
• Negative Sentiment: The financing triggered selling pressure because the common stock was offered below the levels reached after the clinical update, creating dilution concerns. The underwriters also have options for additional shares and notes, which could increase the total financing size.
• Negative Sentiment: Put-option activity surged to 8,093 contracts, 259% above typical volume, indicating increased near-term hedging or bearish speculation. Two executives also sold shares under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans; while not necessarily discretionary bearish signals, the transactions may add to investor caution. Vaxcyte insider sale filing

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.