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

Vaxcyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCVX) gapped down before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $69.46, but opened at $33.07. Vaxcyte shares last traded at $33.56, with a volume of 2,578,445 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on PCVX shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Vaxcyte from $138.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on Vaxcyte from $140.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $160.00 price target on shares of Vaxcyte in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Vaxcyte from $157.00 to $137.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $136.50.

Vaxcyte Trading Down 14.6 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $4.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.01 and a beta of 1.02. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $91.24.

Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The company reported ($1.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.16) by $0.14. Research analysts predict that Vaxcyte, Inc. will post -4.21 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Vaxcyte news, CFO Andrew Guggenhime sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.51, for a total transaction of $692,080.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 109,491 shares in the company, valued at $9,472,066.41. The trade was a 6.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Teri Loxam sold 6,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.11, for a total value of $531,937.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,175 shares in the company, valued at $610,664.25. This trade represents a 46.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 46,250 shares of company stock valued at $3,840,018 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in Vaxcyte by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 3,307 shares of the company’s stock worth $271,000 after buying an additional 171 shares during the period. Bridgefront Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Vaxcyte by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Bridgefront Capital LLC now owns 4,244 shares of the company’s stock worth $347,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in Vaxcyte by 188.4% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 398 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd increased its stake in Vaxcyte by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd now owns 18,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,506,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vaxcyte during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. 96.78% of the stock is currently owned by 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.