Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) Coverage Initiated at Citigroup

Citigroup started coverage on shares of Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX - Free Report) in a research report released on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued a sell rating and a $6.00 price target on the biopharmaceutical company's stock.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on NVAX. TD Cowen upgraded Novavax to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Novavax from $9.00 to $7.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 9th. B. Riley reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Novavax in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of Novavax in a research report on Friday, February 28th. They set a "buy" rating and a $19.00 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Novavax presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $17.00.

Novavax Price Performance

Shares of NVAX traded up $0.11 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $6.41. The stock had a trading volume of 4,816,618 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,476,628. The stock's 50 day moving average is $6.73 and its 200 day moving average is $7.65. The firm has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a PE ratio of 2.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.07 and a beta of 2.80. Novavax has a 1 year low of $5.01 and a 1 year high of $17.81.

Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.71 by $2.22. Novavax had a net margin of 38.14% and a negative return on equity of 115.51%. The company had revenue of $666.66 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $204.08 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($1.05) EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 610.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Novavax will post -1.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Novavax

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of NVAX. Sanofi purchased a new position in shares of Novavax in the 4th quarter valued at $55,319,000. Park West Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Novavax during the first quarter valued at about $16,210,000. Deep Track Capital LP bought a new stake in Novavax during the fourth quarter valued at about $16,080,000. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in Novavax in the first quarter valued at about $3,280,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 413,676 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 53.04% of the company's stock.

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.