The Goldman Sachs Group Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) Stock Price

Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) had its price objective decreased by stock analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $138.00 to $100.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 186.58% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the stock. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target on shares of Vaxcyte from $140.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $160.00 target price on shares of Vaxcyte in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on Vaxcyte from $157.00 to $137.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $136.50.

Vaxcyte Stock Down 7.6 %

Shares of PCVX stock traded down $2.87 on Tuesday, reaching $34.89. The stock had a trading volume of 3,156,297 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,041,445. Vaxcyte has a 12 month low of $30.12 and a 12 month high of $121.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.63 and a beta of 1.02. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $79.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $91.83.

Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The company reported ($1.02) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.16) by $0.14. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Vaxcyte will post -4.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Teri Loxam sold 6,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 7,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $610,664.25. This trade represents a 46.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Andrew Guggenhime sold 8,000 shares of the company’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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 109,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,472,066.41. This represents a 6.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 46,250 shares of company stock worth $3,840,018 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Diversified Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Vaxcyte in the 4th quarter valued at $1,433,000. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Vaxcyte by 23.1% in the fourth quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 26,428 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,163,000 after acquiring an additional 4,962 shares during the last quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Vaxcyte by 53.7% during the fourth quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 413,637 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,860,000 after acquiring an additional 144,516 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Vaxcyte by 186.2% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 52,702 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,022,000 after acquiring an additional 34,287 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vaxcyte by 70.8% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 593,523 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,418,000 after purchasing an additional 246,049 shares in the last quarter. 96.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.