Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) Shares Down 5.8% – Here’s Why

Vaxcyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCVX)’s share price fell 5.8% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $80.57 and last traded at $80.79. 475,390 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 48% from the average session volume of 916,270 shares. The stock had previously closed at $85.78.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PCVX has been the topic of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Vaxcyte from $108.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Vaxcyte in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $135.00 price target on the stock. Leerink Partners lifted their price objective on shares of Vaxcyte from $106.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. BTIG Research upped their target price on shares of Vaxcyte from $98.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on Vaxcyte from $101.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $145.71.

Vaxcyte Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $10.09 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.59 and a beta of 0.94. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $96.35 and its 200 day moving average is $92.53.

Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported ($0.83) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.10) by $0.27. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.91) earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Vaxcyte, Inc. will post -4.14 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Mikhail Eydelman sold 5,000 shares of Vaxcyte stock in a transaction on Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.27, for a total value of $546,350.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 28,623 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,127,635.21. This trade represents a 14.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Grant Pickering sold 7,098 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.21, for a total transaction of $775,172.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 138,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,134,431.01. This represents a 4.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 117,830 shares of company stock worth $12,383,030. Company insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Vaxcyte by 186.2% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 52,702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,022,000 after purchasing an additional 34,287 shares during the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vaxcyte by 26.9% in the third quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 312,425 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,701,000 after buying an additional 66,183 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Vaxcyte by 13.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,786,335 shares of the company’s stock worth $315,162,000 after acquiring an additional 324,560 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Vaxcyte during the third quarter valued at approximately $507,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Vaxcyte in the third quarter valued at approximately $355,000. 96.78% of the stock is currently 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.