Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) Earns Buy Rating from Needham & Company LLC

Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by equities researchers at Needham & Company LLC in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $14.00 target price on the stock. Needham & Company LLC’s target price would indicate a potential downside of 83.61% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Vaxcyte in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Vaxcyte in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $135.00 price target on the stock. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $127.71.

Vaxcyte Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of PCVX stock opened at $85.42 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $86.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $94.56. The stock has a market cap of $10.65 billion, a PE ratio of -18.57 and a beta of 0.98. Vaxcyte has a 12 month low of $58.10 and a 12 month high of $121.06.

Insider Transactions at Vaxcyte

In related news, CEO Grant Pickering sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.45, for a total transaction of $1,386,750.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 450,301 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,630,327.45. This trade represents a 3.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Jim Wassil sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.66, for a total value of $669,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 205,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,208,443.70. This trade represents a 3.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 68,616 shares of company stock worth $6,095,681. Corporate insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vaxcyte

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Vaxcyte by 33.5% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 371 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Vaxcyte by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,209 shares of the company’s stock valued at $252,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Vaxcyte by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 3,136 shares of the company’s stock valued at $358,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the period. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Vaxcyte in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vaxcyte by 188.4% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 398 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.78% of the company’s stock.

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.