Park West Asset Management LLC Invests $16.21 Million in 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 position in shares of Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,528,857 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $16,210,000. Park West Asset Management LLC owned approximately 1.56% of Novavax as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in shares of Novavax by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 104,562 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $678,000 after purchasing an additional 2,750 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Novavax by 9.1% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 33,169 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $213,000 after buying an additional 2,780 shares during the period. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new position in Novavax during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Monaco Asset Management SAM increased its position in shares of Novavax by 1.8% during the first quarter. Monaco Asset Management SAM now owns 290,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,859,000 after acquiring an additional 5,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in shares of Novavax by 11.1% in the 1st quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 56,124 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $360,000 after acquiring an additional 5,618 shares during the period. 53.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novavax Stock Up 4.0%

Shares of NVAX traded up $0.32 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $8.28. The company had a trading volume of 4,209,353 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,694,603. Novavax, Inc. has a 1 year low of $5.01 and a 1 year high of $15.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.63, a P/E/G ratio of 0.10 and a beta of 2.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.93, a quick ratio of 2.34 and a current ratio of 2.36. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $7.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $7.15.

Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by $0.69. Novavax had a net margin of 39.20% and a negative return on equity of 142.33%. The firm had revenue of $239.24 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $149.19 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.99 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 42.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Novavax, Inc. will post -1.46 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. B. Riley reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Novavax in a report on Monday, May 19th. Bank of America restated an "underperform" rating and set a $7.00 target price (down from $9.00) on shares of Novavax in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. HC Wainwright assumed coverage on shares of Novavax in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. They set a "buy" rating and a $10.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on shares of Novavax in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. They issued a "sell" rating and a $6.00 price objective for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $14.29.

About Novavax

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.