Insider Selling: Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) CAO Sells $105,138.44 in Stock

Vaxcyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCVX) CAO Elvia Cowan sold 1,892 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total transaction of $105,138.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 28,975 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,610,140.75. This represents a 6.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Elvia Cowan also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, March 11th, Elvia Cowan sold 2,500 shares of Vaxcyte stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.59, for a total transaction of $146,475.00.
• On Tuesday, December 23rd, Elvia Cowan sold 11,623 shares of Vaxcyte stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.92, for a total transaction of $556,974.16.

Vaxcyte Price Performance

Vaxcyte stock opened at $54.72 on Friday. Vaxcyte, Inc. has a 12-month low of $27.66 and a 12-month high of $76.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.88 billion, a PE ratio of -9.74 and a beta of 1.31. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $55.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.64.

Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported ($1.80) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.46) by ($0.34). During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($1.12) earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Vaxcyte, Inc. will post -4.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vaxcyte

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of Vaxcyte by 115.2% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 29,471 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,113,000 after purchasing an additional 15,774 shares during the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Vaxcyte in the 1st quarter worth about $219,000. Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new stake in Vaxcyte during the 1st quarter worth about $226,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in Vaxcyte by 8.7% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 513,998 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,409,000 after buying an additional 41,034 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Vaxcyte by 7.6% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 449,694 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,620,000 after buying an additional 31,680 shares in the last quarter. 96.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on PCVX shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Vaxcyte in a report on Friday, January 9th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $116.00 target price on shares of Vaxcyte in a report on Monday, February 2nd. BTIG Research boosted their price target on shares of Vaxcyte from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Vaxcyte in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on shares of Vaxcyte from $90.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Vaxcyte presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.50.

Vaxcyte Company Profile

Vaxcyte, Inc (NASDAQ: PCVX) is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing a new generation of preventive vaccines aimed at combating serious bacterial diseases. Headquartered in San Carlos, California, Vaxcyte leverages proprietary conjugation technologies to design and manufacture multivalent vaccines targeting pathogens for which there remain significant unmet medical needs. The company’s platform is intended to streamline the production of conjugate vaccines by improving antigen presentation and broadening strain coverage compared with conventional approaches.

Vaxcyte’s lead candidate, VAX-24, is a 24-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine designed to protect against 24 serotypes of Streptococcus pneumoniae.