Wall Street Zen Upgrades Dynavax Technologies (NASDAQ:DVAX) to “Strong-Buy”

Dynavax Technologies (NASDAQ:DVAX) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. William Blair lowered shares of Dynavax Technologies from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 24th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Dynavax Technologies in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $24.33.

Dynavax Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of Dynavax Technologies stock opened at $15.38 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -41.57 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 7.62 and a quick ratio of 6.94. The business has a 50-day moving average of $11.10 and a 200 day moving average of $10.58. Dynavax Technologies has a 12 month low of $9.20 and a 12 month high of $15.49.

Dynavax Technologies (NASDAQ:DVAX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.07. Dynavax Technologies had a negative net margin of 13.13% and a positive return on equity of 7.18%. The company had revenue of $94.88 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.00 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Dynavax Technologies will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Dynavax Technologies

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in shares of Dynavax Technologies by 107.2% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,814,934 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $18,004,000 after purchasing an additional 939,076 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its holdings in Dynavax Technologies by 163.0% during the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 754,041 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $7,488,000 after buying an additional 467,369 shares during the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC boosted its position in shares of Dynavax Technologies by 237.4% during the 1st quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 656,541 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $8,515,000 after acquiring an additional 461,980 shares in the last quarter. Man Group plc boosted its position in shares of Dynavax Technologies by 925.5% during the 2nd quarter. Man Group plc now owns 447,847 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $4,443,000 after acquiring an additional 404,175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP increased its holdings in shares of Dynavax Technologies by 48.4% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 1,178,763 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $15,289,000 after acquiring an additional 384,288 shares during the last quarter. 96.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Dynavax Technologies Company Profile

Dynavax Technologies Corporation is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of novel vaccines and immunotherapies. Headquartered in Emeryville, California, the company specializes in leveraging its proprietary Toll-like receptor (TLR) agonist platform to enhance immune responses. Its lead product, HEPLISAV-B, is a two-dose hepatitis B vaccine approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that incorporates the CpG 1018 adjuvant to stimulate a rapid and robust antibody response in adults.

Founded in 1993, Dynavax has built a pipeline that extends beyond hepatitis B to include candidates targeting seasonal influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and emerging infectious diseases.