Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) Shares Gap Down - Here's Why

Shares of Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX - Get Free Report) gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $7.03, but opened at $6.78. Novavax shares last traded at $6.78, with a volume of 1,072,648 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Novavax from $9.00 to $7.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 9th. B. Riley reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Novavax in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Citigroup began coverage on Novavax in a research report on Tuesday. They set a "sell" rating and a $6.00 price objective for the company. BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of Novavax in a report on Friday, February 28th. They set a "buy" rating and a $19.00 price target for the company. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of Novavax to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Two 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $17.00.

Novavax Stock Up 1.7%

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $6.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $7.64. The company has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.07 and a beta of 2.80.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new stake in shares of Novavax during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Novavax in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich acquired a new position in shares of Novavax during the 1st quarter valued at $71,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Novavax by 2,272.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 11,839 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 11,340 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC lifted its stake in Novavax by 290.1% during the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 10,677 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $86,000 after purchasing an additional 7,940 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.