Novavax Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:NVAX)

Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Friday. Traders bought 18,451 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 61% compared to the typical volume of 11,433 put options.

Novavax Stock Down 1.1%

NASDAQ:NVAX traded down $0.10 on Friday, hitting $9.29. The stock had a trading volume of 3,826,937 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,899,562. The stock has a market cap of $1.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.08 and a beta of 2.43. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $9.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $8.90. Novavax has a 1-year low of $6.20 and a 1-year high of $11.97.

Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.25) by $0.19. Novavax had a negative net margin of 14.73% and a negative return on equity of 14.82%. The business had revenue of $118.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.81 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.93 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 79.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Novavax will post -0.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of NVAX. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Novavax in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in Novavax by 917.3% during the 1st quarter. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. now owns 4,242 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 3,825 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its position in Novavax by 34.9% in the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,746 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,229 shares in the last quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Novavax in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in Novavax during the third quarter worth about $64,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 53.04% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NVAX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Novavax from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Novavax from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Novavax from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, May 31st. Zacks Research raised shares of Novavax from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Novavax in a report on Thursday, March 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Novavax has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.00.

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.