Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) Coverage Initiated at The Goldman Sachs Group

Stock analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) in a research note issued to investors on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage set a “buy” rating and a $135.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price target suggests a potential upside of 56.02% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target 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 boosted their target price on Vaxcyte from $106.00 to $153.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $140.00 price target on shares of Vaxcyte in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Vaxcyte from $101.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Vaxcyte in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $145.71.

Vaxcyte Price Performance

Shares of Vaxcyte stock opened at $86.53 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $10.78 billion, a PE ratio of -18.81 and a beta of 0.94. Vaxcyte has a 1 year low of $53.83 and a 1 year high of $121.06. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $98.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $92.28.

Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported ($0.83) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.10) by $0.27. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.91) EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Vaxcyte will post -4.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Vaxcyte

In related news, CFO Andrew Guggenhime sold 42,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.39, for a total transaction of $4,846,380.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 90,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,429,294.37. This represents a 31.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mikhail Eydelman sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.27, for a total transaction of $546,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 28,623 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,127,635.21. The trade was a 14.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 117,830 shares of company stock worth $12,383,030. 3.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vaxcyte

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Vaxcyte in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Fifth Third Bancorp bought a new position in shares of Vaxcyte in the second quarter worth approximately $35,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Vaxcyte by 33.5% in 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 in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Vaxcyte during the second quarter valued at approximately $70,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Vaxcyte by 1,007.9% during the third quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 698 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 635 shares during the last quarter. 96.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.