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

Vaxcyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCVX) shares saw strong trading volume on Friday . 547,878 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 37% from the previous session’s volume of 867,590 shares.The stock last traded at $87.06 and had previously closed at $92.68.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Mizuho upped their target price on Vaxcyte from $113.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Vaxcyte from $101.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $140.00 target price on shares of Vaxcyte in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Vaxcyte from $108.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Vaxcyte in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $147.50.

Vaxcyte Stock Down 5.4 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $10.92 billion, a P/E ratio of -18.93 and a beta of 1.01. The company’s 50 day moving average is $111.16 and its 200-day moving average is $88.28.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vaxcyte news, SVP Elvia Cowan sold 5,000 shares of Vaxcyte stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.67, for a total transaction of $538,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 12,723 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,369,885.41. The trade was a 28.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Grant Pickering sold 15,000 shares of Vaxcyte stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.98, for a total transaction of $1,184,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 478,888 shares in the company, valued at $37,822,574.24. This represents a 3.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 117,464 shares of company stock worth $12,640,276. Corporate insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PCVX. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Vaxcyte by 33.5% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 371 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Vaxcyte by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,209 shares of the company’s stock valued at $252,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Vaxcyte by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 3,759 shares of the company’s stock worth $284,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in Vaxcyte during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. 96.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.