Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) Price Target Raised to $9.00 at TD Cowen

Key Points

• TD Cowen raised its price target on Novavax from $8.00 to $9.00 while maintaining a "hold" rating, implying about a 4.17% downside from the prior close.
• Novavax beat Q1 estimates—EPS of ($0.06) vs. ($0.25) expected and revenue of $118.9M—driven by licensing/milestone payments, but revenue plunged ~79% year‑over‑year and management's FY2026 revenue framework is well below Street estimates.
• The stock rallied roughly 16% to $9.39 on the results; analysts remain mixed with a consensus "Hold" and an average target of $12.13 (five Buys, two Holds, three Sells).

Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX - Get Free Report) had its price objective lifted by analysts at TD Cowen from $8.00 to $9.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "hold" rating on the biopharmaceutical company's stock. TD Cowen's price objective would indicate a potential downside of 4.17% from the stock's previous close.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $19.00 target price on shares of Novavax in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Novavax from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Novavax from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Novavax in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, B. Riley Financial reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Novavax in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Novavax presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $12.13.

Novavax Trading Up 16.0%

Novavax stock traded up $1.29 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $9.39. The company had a trading volume of 14,373,480 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,706,678. Novavax has a 1-year low of $5.80 and a 1-year high of $11.97. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $9.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $8.19. The stock has a market cap of $1.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.90 and a beta of 2.37.

Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.06) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.25) by $0.19. Novavax had a net margin of 39.19% and a negative return on equity of 673.17%. The firm had revenue of $118.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $78.32 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.93 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 79.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Novavax will post -0.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Novavax

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Novavax by 11.0% in the third quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 12,755 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $111,000 after acquiring an additional 1,268 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in shares of Novavax by 1.0% in the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 155,743 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,350,000 after acquiring an additional 1,529 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Novavax by 25.8% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 7,896 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 1,617 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in shares of Novavax by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 78,048 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $492,000 after purchasing an additional 1,718 shares during the last quarter. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al lifted its position in shares of Novavax by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 34,663 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $233,000 after purchasing an additional 2,100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 53.04% of the company's stock.

Novavax News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Novavax this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beats — Novavax reported a GAAP loss of $0.06/share versus consensus ~‑$0.25 and delivered revenue that topped estimates, helped by milestone and licensing payments. This upside is the primary near-term catalyst behind the stock strength. Novavax beats first-quarter revenue estimates on vaccine deals strength
• Positive Sentiment: High-margin partnerships — Management highlighted multiple licensing/MTA deals (including a non‑exclusive Pfizer Matrix‑M license and expanded MTAs with large pharma/oncology partners) that generated milestone cash and improve near‑term revenue visibility without direct product sales. Novavax Reports First Quarter 2026 Financial Results and Operational Highlights
• Positive Sentiment: Pipeline & validation signals — Sanofi’s Phase 4 COMPARE results were cited as reinforcing Nuvaxovid’s differentiated reactogenicity profile; Novavax also flagged a C. difficile candidate prioritized to potentially enter the clinic as early as 2027, supporting longer‑term upside. Novavax Reports First Quarter 2026 Financial Results and Operational Highlights
• Neutral Sentiment: Company commentary — Novavax reiterated its 2026 revenue framework and combined R&D + SG&A guidance, and provided slides/transcript for investors; these details will matter for models but are not an immediate binary catalyst. Listen to Conference Call
• Negative Sentiment: Full‑year revenue outlook below Street — Novavax’s FY2026 revenue framework is materially below consensus (management’s range is well under prior Street estimates), creating downside risk for analyst forecasts and valuation until guidance is re‑rated. Listen to Conference Call
• Negative Sentiment: Sharp year‑over‑year revenue decline — Q1 revenue is down roughly ~79% YoY, reflecting weak product demand and making Novavax more reliant on licensing/milestone cash versus recurring sales. That makes future quarters lumpy and guidance execution critical. Novavax earnings and presentation

About Novavax

Novavax, Inc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company headquartered in Gaithersburg, Maryland, that specializes in the discovery, development and commercialization of next-generation vaccines to prevent serious infectious diseases. Founded in 1987, the company has built a platform based on recombinant nanoparticle technology and its proprietary Matrix-M™ adjuvant to enhance immune responses.

The company's lead product is NVX-CoV2373, a protein-based vaccine designed to elicit a robust immune response against the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

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