The Goldman Sachs Group Initiates Coverage on Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX)

Research analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage set a “buy” rating and a $135.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s target price indicates a potential upside of 56.02% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on PCVX. Leerink Partners lifted their price objective on Vaxcyte from $106.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $140.00 target price on shares of Vaxcyte in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America increased their price target on Vaxcyte from $101.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Vaxcyte from $113.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, BTIG Research boosted 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. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $145.71.

Vaxcyte Price Performance

Vaxcyte stock opened at $86.53 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $98.70 and its 200 day moving average is $92.28. Vaxcyte has a one year low of $53.83 and a one year high of $121.06. The firm has a market cap of $10.78 billion, a P/E ratio of -18.81 and a beta of 0.94.

Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 last year, the company posted ($0.91) earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Vaxcyte will post -4.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Mikhail Eydelman sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 28,623 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,127,635.21. The trade was a 14.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Grant Pickering sold 7,098 shares of the company’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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 138,581 shares in the company, valued at $15,134,431.01. This represents a 4.87 % decrease in their position. 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. Insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in Vaxcyte in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Fifth Third Bancorp bought a new stake in shares of Vaxcyte in the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew 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 acquiring an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vaxcyte in the second quarter valued at about $70,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.78% of the company’s stock.

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.