Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) Trading Up 14.6% After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Key Points

• Novavax's stock surged by 14.6% after the company reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, with an EPS of $0.62, significantly above the consensus estimate of ($0.12).
• Despite the positive earnings report, Novavax's revenue of $239.24 million marks a 42.4% decline compared to the same quarter last year.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Novavax, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $15.86, reflecting varied perspectives from different research firms.

Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX - Get Free Report) was up 14.6% on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $8.88 and last traded at $8.69. Approximately 13,333,193 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 103% from the average daily volume of 6,566,897 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.58.

The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.07) by $0.69. The firm had revenue of $239.24 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $149.19 million. Novavax had a net margin of 39.20% and a negative return on equity of 142.33%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 42.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.99 earnings per share.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on NVAX. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Novavax in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. They issued a "sell" rating and a $6.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of 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 report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Novavax from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $15.86.

Institutional Trading of Novavax

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Novavax by 28.8% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 76,576 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $616,000 after purchasing an additional 17,101 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Novavax by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,657,695 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $29,415,000 after purchasing an additional 155,206 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its position in Novavax by 31.3% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 125,845 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,012,000 after purchasing an additional 29,981 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in Novavax by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 50,506 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $406,000 after purchasing an additional 2,124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Martingale Asset Management L P grew its holdings in Novavax by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 39,109 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $314,000 after buying an additional 4,123 shares in the last quarter. 53.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novavax Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.10 and a beta of 2.50. The business has a fifty day moving average of $7.00 and a 200-day moving average of $7.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.93, a quick ratio of 2.34 and a current ratio of 2.36.

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.