Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) Trading Up 4.1% - Here's What Happened

Shares of Vaxcyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCVX - Get Free Report) shot up 4.1% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $32.67 and last traded at $31.81. 2,079,177 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 89% from the average session volume of 1,102,116 shares. The stock had previously closed at $30.56.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on PCVX. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Vaxcyte from $138.00 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $160.00 price objective on shares of Vaxcyte in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Vaxcyte from $157.00 to $137.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Vaxcyte to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Vaxcyte in a report on Tuesday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $136.50.

Vaxcyte Stock Up 2.0 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $71.01 and a 200-day moving average of $87.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.70 and a beta of 1.26.

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Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The company reported ($1.02) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.16) by $0.14. On average, equities analysts forecast that Vaxcyte, Inc. will post -4.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Vaxcyte

In other news, CFO Andrew Guggenhime sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.51, for a total value of $692,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 109,491 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,472,066.41. This trade represents a 6.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Teri Loxam sold 6,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.11, for a total transaction of $531,937.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $610,664.25. This represents a 46.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 38,250 shares of company stock valued at $3,170,738. Corporate insiders own 3.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vaxcyte in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vaxcyte by 188.4% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 398 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI acquired a new stake in shares of Vaxcyte in the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Vaxcyte by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 742 shares of the company's stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in Vaxcyte by 203.6% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,597 shares of the company's stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 1,071 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.78% of the company's stock.

Vaxcyte Company Profile

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.