Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) Sees Large Volume Increase - Still a Buy?

Vaxcyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCVX - Get Free Report) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Friday . Approximately 547,878 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 37% from the previous session's volume of 867,590 shares.The stock last traded at $87.06 and had previously closed at $92.68.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PCVX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Vaxcyte from $108.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Leerink Partners raised their target price on Vaxcyte from $106.00 to $153.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. BTIG Research lifted their target price on Vaxcyte from $98.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Mizuho increased their price target on Vaxcyte from $113.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $140.00 price objective on shares of Vaxcyte in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vaxcyte presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $147.50.

Vaxcyte Stock Down 6.3 %

The firm has a market cap of $10.82 billion, a PE ratio of -19.05 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $111.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $88.28.

Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported ($0.83) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.10) by $0.27. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.91) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Vaxcyte, Inc. will post -4.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Vaxcyte

In other Vaxcyte news, SVP Elvia Cowan sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.67, for a total value of $538,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,723 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,369,885.41. This trade represents a 28.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Jim Wassil sold 10,000 shares of Vaxcyte stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.93, for a total value of $1,119,300.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 207,503 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,225,810.79. This represents a 4.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 117,464 shares of company stock worth $12,640,276. Corporate insiders own 3.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vaxcyte

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PCVX. Darwin Global Management Ltd. grew its position in Vaxcyte by 374.3% in the first quarter. Darwin Global Management Ltd. now owns 2,750,804 shares of the company's stock worth $187,907,000 after acquiring an additional 2,170,845 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in Vaxcyte by 23.1% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 10,921,896 shares of the company's stock worth $1,247,954,000 after buying an additional 2,052,989 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Vaxcyte by 15.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,737,254 shares of the company's stock valued at $665,152,000 after acquiring an additional 1,284,883 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of Vaxcyte by 20.4% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 4,140,521 shares of the company's stock worth $282,839,000 after acquiring an additional 700,414 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avoro Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vaxcyte during the first quarter worth approximately $39,278,000. 96.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Vaxcyte

Vaxcyte, Inc, a clinical-stage biotechnology vaccine company, develops novel protein vaccines to prevent or treat bacterial infectious diseases. Its lead vaccine candidate is VAX-24, a 24-valent investigational pneumococcal conjugate vaccine for the prevention of invasive pneumococcal disease. The company also develops VAX-31 to protect against emerging strains and to help address antibiotic resistance; VAX-A1, a novel conjugate vaccine candidate to prevent disease caused by Group A Streptococcus; VAX-PG, a novel protein vaccine candidate targeting keystone pathogen responsible for periodontitis; and VAX-GI to prevent Shigella, a bacterial illness.