Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) Stock Price Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average - Here's Why

Key Points

• Novavax shares crossed above their 200-day moving average
• The company reported a surprise quarterly beat — $0.11 EPS versus a ($0.66) estimate and revenue of $136.4M (up 66.6% year‑over‑year), boosting margins despite a negative return on equity.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed with a consensus rating of "Hold" and a $11.88 average price target, while institutional investors (Vanguard, Shah Capital, State Street, UBS) notably increased positions, leaving institutions owning ~53% of the stock.

Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX - Get Free Report) crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $8.28 and traded as high as $8.42. Novavax shares last traded at $8.09, with a volume of 4,148,236 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $19.00 price target on shares of Novavax in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. 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 reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Novavax in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Novavax from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Finally, HC Wainwright lifted their price target on shares of Novavax from $11.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $11.88.

Novavax Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 2.10, a current ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.93. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $9.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $8.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 2.54.

Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.66) by $0.77. Novavax had a net margin of 39.19% and a negative return on equity of 673.17%. The business had revenue of $136.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.26 million. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.51) EPS. Novavax's revenue was up 66.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Novavax, Inc. will post -1.46 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Novavax

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Novavax by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,470,365 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $103,961,000 after purchasing an additional 275,802 shares during the last quarter. Shah Capital Management boosted its position in shares of Novavax by 23.3% during the fourth quarter. Shah Capital Management now owns 14,558,780 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $97,835,000 after buying an additional 2,747,000 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Novavax by 32.3% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,523,646 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $63,999,000 after buying an additional 2,326,927 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its holdings in Novavax by 40.3% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 4,894,284 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $32,890,000 after buying an additional 1,405,981 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in Novavax by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,101,074 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $26,886,000 after buying an additional 15,685 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 53.04% of the company's stock.

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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