Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) Shares Up 6.9% – Here’s Why

Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX)’s share price was up 6.9% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $9.10 and last traded at $9.00. Approximately 2,945,177 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 36% from the average daily volume of 4,623,850 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.42.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $19.00 price objective on shares of Novavax in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Wall Street Zen cut Novavax from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Novavax from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Zacks Research cut Novavax from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Novavax in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Novavax presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $14.00.

Novavax Trading Up 7.1%

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $8.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $8.91. The firm has a market cap of $1.49 billion, a PE ratio of -5.93 and a beta of 2.46.

Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.32) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.38) by $0.06. Novavax had a negative return on equity of 14.82% and a negative net margin of 59.87%.The business had revenue of $56.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $52.51 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.62 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 76.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Novavax, Inc. will post -0.43 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Novavax

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in Novavax by 34.9% during the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,746 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 1,229 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in shares of Novavax by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 155,743 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,350,000 after acquiring an additional 1,529 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Novavax by 25.8% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 7,896 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 1,617 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,718 shares during the last quarter. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al boosted its position in Novavax by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 34,663 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $233,000 after purchasing an additional 2,100 shares in the last quarter. 53.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novavax Company Profile

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.