Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Here’s What Happened

Vaxcyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCVX) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Wednesday . Approximately 1,354,631 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 27% from the previous session’s volume of 1,068,534 shares.The stock last traded at $33.09 and had previously closed at $32.23.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Vaxcyte from $138.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Needham & Company LLC dropped their target price on shares of Vaxcyte from $140.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Vaxcyte from $157.00 to $137.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $160.00 price objective on shares of Vaxcyte in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Vaxcyte currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $136.50.

Vaxcyte Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $91.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.20 and a beta of 1.02.

Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The company reported ($1.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.16) by $0.14. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Vaxcyte, Inc. will post -4.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Vaxcyte

In other Vaxcyte news, COO Jim Wassil sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.27, for a total transaction of $586,160.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 154,931 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,351,794.37. This represents a 4.91 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Teri Loxam sold 6,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,175 shares in the company, valued at $610,664.25. This represents a 46.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 46,250 shares of company stock worth $3,840,018 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vaxcyte

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PCVX. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of Vaxcyte by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 3,307 shares of the company’s stock valued at $271,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares during the period. Bridgefront Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vaxcyte by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Bridgefront Capital LLC now owns 4,244 shares of the company’s stock valued at $347,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Vaxcyte by 188.4% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 398 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd lifted its holdings in Vaxcyte by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd now owns 18,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,506,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Vaxcyte in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. 96.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.