Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) Trading Up 7.6% – Here’s What Happened

Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX) shares traded up 7.6% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $10.88 and last traded at $10.8450. 3,820,304 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 29% from the average session volume of 5,351,847 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.08.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on NVAX. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Novavax from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 target price on shares of Novavax in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. HC Wainwright boosted their price target on shares of Novavax from $11.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Novavax from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Novavax in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $11.88.

Novavax Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $9.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $8.20. The firm has a market cap of $1.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 2.54. The company has a quick ratio of 2.10, a current ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.93.

Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.66) by $0.77. Novavax had a net margin of 39.19% and a negative return on equity of 673.17%. The firm had revenue of $136.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.26 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.51) earnings per share. Novavax’s revenue for the quarter was up 66.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Novavax, Inc. will post -1.46 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Novavax by 12.9% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 259,380 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,743,000 after acquiring an additional 29,704 shares during the last quarter. VARCOV Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Novavax during the fourth quarter worth $263,000. Virtus Investment Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Novavax by 67.4% during the fourth quarter. Virtus Investment Advisers LLC now owns 104,019 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $699,000 after purchasing an additional 41,866 shares during the last quarter. Oxford Asset Management LLP acquired a new position in shares of Novavax in the 4th quarter valued at $145,000. Finally, Man Group plc acquired a new position in shares of Novavax in the 4th quarter valued at $290,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 53.04% of the company’s stock.

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.