Entropy Technologies LP Acquires New Stake in Novavax, Inc. $NVAX

Key Points

• Entropy Technologies LP has invested approximately $191,000 in Novavax, acquiring nearly 30,000 shares, indicating institutional confidence in the biopharmaceutical company.
• Novavax reported a surprising earnings per share (EPS) of $0.62 for the most recent quarter, significantly exceeding analysts' expectations, although revenue showed a decline of 42.4% year-over-year.
• Despite a mixed outlook from analysts with a consensus rating of "Hold", Novavax's stock has a wide target price range, suggesting potential for future growth amid recent challenges.

Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 29,739 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $191,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sanofi purchased a new stake in Novavax during the 4th quarter valued at about $55,319,000. Deep Track Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Novavax in the fourth quarter worth about $16,080,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in shares of Novavax by 289.0% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 556,832 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $4,477,000 after buying an additional 413,676 shares during the last quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novavax in the fourth quarter worth about $2,761,000. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Novavax in the first quarter worth about $1,907,000. 53.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on NVAX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Novavax from $9.00 to $7.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Citigroup started coverage on Novavax in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. They issued a "sell" rating and a $6.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America restated an "underperform" rating and issued a $7.00 target price (down previously from $9.00) on shares of Novavax in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, B. Riley restated a "buy" rating on shares of Novavax in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $15.57.

Novavax Price Performance

NASDAQ NVAX traded down $1.11 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $7.63. The company's stock had a trading volume of 20,967,137 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,930,775. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.35, a P/E/G ratio of 0.10 and a beta of 2.50. Novavax, Inc. has a 1-year low of $5.01 and a 1-year high of $15.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.93, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 2.34. The company's 50-day moving average is $7.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $7.20.

Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.07) by $0.69. The company had revenue of $239.24 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $149.19 million. Novavax had a negative return on equity of 142.33% and a net margin of 39.20%.Novavax's quarterly revenue was down 42.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.99 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Novavax, Inc. will post -1.46 EPS for the current year.

Novavax Profile

Novavax, Inc, a biotechnology company, that promotes improved health by discovering, developing, and commercializing vaccines to protect against serious infectious diseases. It offers vaccine platform that combines a recombinant protein approach, nanoparticle technology, and its patented Matrix-M adjuvant to enhance the immune response.