Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) Price Target Raised to $122.00

Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) had its price objective raised by equities researchers at Needham & Company LLC from $110.00 to $122.00 in a research note issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 64.92% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on PCVX. Zacks Research upgraded Vaxcyte from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Vaxcyte in a research note on Friday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Vaxcyte from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Vaxcyte from $133.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 28th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Vaxcyte from $116.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vaxcyte currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $108.60.

Vaxcyte Trading Up 31.0%

Vaxcyte stock traded up $17.49 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $73.97. 10,198,977 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,432,721. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $58.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $56.18. Vaxcyte has a fifty-two week low of $39.87 and a fifty-two week high of $90.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.69 and a beta of 1.23.

Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported ($1.97) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($2.06) by $0.09. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($1.22) earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Vaxcyte will post -7.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vaxcyte

In other news, CFO Andrew Guggenhime sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.89, for a total value of $538,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 105,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,667,934.64. This represents a 8.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Grant Pickering sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.65, for a total value of $111,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 133,215 shares in the company, valued at $7,413,414.75. This trade represents a 1.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 55,890 shares of company stock worth $3,111,189 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new stake in Vaxcyte in the second quarter valued at $1,044,355,000. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Vaxcyte in the 2nd quarter worth about $701,520,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in shares of Vaxcyte by 23.8% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 16,575,875 shares of the company’s stock valued at $960,231,000 after purchasing an additional 3,188,687 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Vaxcyte by 35.9% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,296,333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $521,213,000 after buying an additional 2,981,038 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Vaxcyte by 24.7% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,001,565 shares of the company’s stock worth $407,001,000 after buying an additional 1,386,968 shares during the period. 96.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Vaxcyte News

Here are the key news stories impacting Vaxcyte this week:

• Positive Sentiment: VAX-31 met all prespecified primary endpoints across the adult age groups studied, with immune responses comparable to Pfizer’s Prevnar 20 and Merck’s Capvaxive. The results support Vaxcyte’s potential to advance VAX-31 toward a competitive position in the pneumococcal vaccine market. Vaxcyte Reports Positive Topline Data from OPUS-1
• Positive Sentiment: Broader vaccine coverage and strong immune responses could help VAX-31 compete with established products from Pfizer and Merck. Jefferies estimates the adult pneumococcal vaccine market could be worth $3 billion to $6 billion or more, increasing the potential commercial opportunity for Vaxcyte. Vaxcyte shares surge on late-stage vaccine trial success
• Positive Sentiment: Investor interest intensified, with options activity running above its typical level as traders positioned around the Phase 3 data release.
• Neutral Sentiment: The results are topline data; Vaxcyte must still complete regulatory review and seek approval before VAX-31 can generate revenue. Additional safety, durability, manufacturing and commercialization details remain important for valuation.

About Vaxcyte

Vaxcyte, Inc (NASDAQ: PCVX) is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing vaccines to help prevent serious bacterial infections. The company uses its cell-free protein synthesis and advanced conjugation technologies to design vaccines intended to provide broad and durable protection while addressing limitations of existing vaccine products.

Vaxcyte’s lead programs are pneumococcal conjugate vaccine candidates, including VAX-24 and VAX-31, which are designed to target a broad range of pneumococcal serotypes.