Vaxcyte initiated with a Buy at Guggenheim on pneumococcal vaccine potential

As previously reported, Guggenheim analyst Seamus Fernandez initiated coverage of Vaxcyte (PCVX) with a Buy rating and $66 price target, citing the potential of its 24- and 31-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccines, or PCVs, VAX-24 and VAX-31. The global pneumococcal vaccine market was worth about $7.1B in 2021, and likely growing to $10B-plus, said Fernandez, who sees Vaxcyte being positioned to capture "significant share" of the PCV market by 2034. Older conjugation technologies used by Pfizer (PFE), Merck (MRK), GSK (GSK) and Sanofi (SNY) appear to be "technically limited," but Vaxcyte’s PCVs appear to overcome barriers that hold these others back, Fernandez tells investors.