Park West Asset Management LLC Purchases Shares of 2,528,857 Novavax, Inc. $NVAX

Key Points

• Park West Asset Management LLC has acquired a new stake in Novavax, Inc., purchasing 2,528,857 shares valued at approximately $16.2 million, representing about 1.56% ownership of the company.
• Novavax reported $0.62 earnings per share for the last quarter, significantly exceeding analyst estimates, with revenue of $239.24 million, although down 42.4% year-over-year.
• The stock has a current market capitalization of $1.28 billion and analysts have mixed ratings, with a consensus target price of $14.29, while some analysts issued “sell” ratings with lower price targets.

Park West Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,528,857 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $16,210,000. Park West Asset Management LLC owned 1.56% of Novavax as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NVAX. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in shares of Novavax by 47.5% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 123,581 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $994,000 after buying an additional 39,787 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Novavax by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 101,812 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $817,000 after acquiring an additional 9,711 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Novavax by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 135,486 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,089,000 after acquiring an additional 14,853 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Novavax by 19.8% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 268,684 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,160,000 after purchasing an additional 44,359 shares during the period. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC grew its position in Novavax by 44.9% during the 4th quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 27,283 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $219,000 after purchasing an additional 8,454 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 53.04% of the company's stock.

Novavax Stock Up 3.0%

NVAX traded up $0.23 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $7.96. 4,503,142 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,271,755. 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 has a market cap of $1.29 billion, a PE ratio of 3.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.10 and a beta of 2.68. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $7.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $7.15. Novavax, Inc. has a one year low of $5.01 and a one year high of $15.22.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on NVAX. Citigroup initiated coverage on Novavax in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. They issued a "sell" rating and a $6.00 target price for the company. B. Riley reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Novavax in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Bank of America restated an "underperform" rating and set a $7.00 price objective (down from $9.00) on shares of Novavax in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Finally, HC Wainwright assumed coverage on Novavax in a report on Thursday, August 28th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $10.00 target price on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $14.29.

Novavax Company 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.