Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) Trading Up 8% – Here’s Why

Shares of Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX) shot up 8% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $8.75 and last traded at $8.6480. 7,955,906 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 52% from the average session volume of 5,221,747 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.01.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on NVAX. B. Riley reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $16.00 price objective (down from $18.00) on shares of Novavax in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Novavax in a report on Monday, December 29th. HC Wainwright lifted their price objective on shares of Novavax from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Novavax from $7.00 to $6.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their target price on Novavax from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $11.25.

Novavax Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.93, a quick ratio of 2.24 and a current ratio of 2.27. The firm has a market cap of $1.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.58 and a beta of 2.37. The company’s 50 day moving average is $6.99 and its 200 day moving average is $7.66.

Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.25) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.08) by ($0.17). Novavax had a negative return on equity of 217.02% and a net margin of 32.10%.The company had revenue of $70.45 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.63 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.76) earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Novavax, Inc. will post -1.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Novavax

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Novavax by 11.0% during the third quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 12,755 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $111,000 after purchasing an additional 1,268 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in Novavax by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 155,743 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,350,000 after buying an additional 1,529 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in Novavax by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 78,048 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $492,000 after acquiring an additional 1,718 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its position in Novavax by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 34,095 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $215,000 after acquiring an additional 1,766 shares during the period. Finally, E Fund Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in Novavax by 9.0% in the 2nd quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 28,280 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $178,000 after acquiring an additional 2,326 shares during the period. 53.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Novavax

Novavax, Inc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company headquartered in Gaithersburg, Maryland, that specializes in the discovery, development and commercialization of next-generation vaccines to prevent serious infectious diseases. Founded in 1987, the company has built a platform based on recombinant nanoparticle technology and its proprietary Matrix-M™ adjuvant to enhance immune responses.

The company’s lead product is NVX-CoV2373, a protein-based vaccine designed to elicit a robust immune response against the SARS-CoV-2 virus.