Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) Upgraded by Zacks Research to “Hold” Rating

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

PCVX has been the topic of a number of other reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Vaxcyte in a report on Monday, July 6th. Wall Street Zen raised Vaxcyte from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.00.

Vaxcyte Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ PCVX opened at $58.86 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $54.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.49. The firm has a market cap of $8.76 billion, a PE ratio of -7.71 and a beta of 1.23. Vaxcyte has a twelve month low of $29.87 and a twelve month high of $65.00.

Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported ($1.97) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($2.06) by $0.09. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($1.22) earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Vaxcyte will post -7.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Vaxcyte

In related news, CFO Andrew Guggenhime sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 105,176 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,667,934.64. This represents a 8.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Harpreet S. Dhaliwal sold 17,000 shares of Vaxcyte stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 120,646 shares of company stock valued at $6,570,810. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vaxcyte

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in Vaxcyte by 156.2% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 597 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 364 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Vaxcyte by 1,463.4% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 641 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vaxcyte by 33.0% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 741 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vaxcyte by 22,500.0% in the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,356 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 1,350 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC acquired a new stake in Vaxcyte during the first quarter worth about $58,000. 96.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.