Investors Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX)

Key Points

• Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX) experienced a significant increase in call options trading, with 28,763 call options purchased, marking a 66% rise from the average daily volume.
• Recent analyst ratings for Novavax show a mix of opinions: Bank of America maintained an "underperform" rating with a target price of $7.00, while HC Wainwright issued a "buy" rating with a target of $10.00.
• Novavax reported $0.62 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, though revenue declined 42.4% year-over-year to $239.24 million.

Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading on Thursday. Stock investors purchased 28,763 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 66% compared to the average daily volume of 17,376 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Novavax Stock Performance

NASDAQ NVAX traded down $0.02 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $9.48. The stock had a trading volume of 3,101,887 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,521,000. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $8.06 and a 200 day moving average of $7.23. The stock has a market cap of $1.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.11 and a beta of 2.74. Novavax has a 52-week low of $5.01 and a 52-week high of $15.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.93, a quick ratio of 2.34 and a current ratio of 2.36.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of NVAX. Park West Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novavax during the 1st quarter worth approximately $16,210,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Novavax by 195.9% during the 2nd quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 880,410 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $5,547,000 after buying an additional 582,858 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in shares of Novavax during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,382,000. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novavax during the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,280,000. Finally, HRT Financial LP raised its stake in shares of Novavax by 191.8% during the 2nd quarter. HRT Financial LP now owns 615,649 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $3,878,000 after buying an additional 404,676 shares during the period. 53.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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