Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) Stock Price Up 5.4% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Novavax's stock increased by 5.4%, reaching a high of $9.24 before closing at $9.33, despite a trading volume decline of 39% from its average.
• Analysts maintain mixed views on Novavax, with four buy ratings, two sell ratings, and a projected average price target of $15.86, down from a previous high.
• The company reported $0.62 EPS for the last quarter, significantly beating estimates, but its revenue was down 42.4% year-over-year, with expectations of a loss for the current year.

Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX - Get Free Report)'s share price shot up 5.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $9.24 and last traded at $9.33. 4,040,006 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 39% from the average session volume of 6,611,240 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.85.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on NVAX shares. Bank of America lowered 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. B. Riley reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Novavax in a report on Monday, May 19th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Novavax in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. They set a "sell" rating and a $6.00 price objective for the company. Finally, 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Novavax presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $15.86.

Novavax Stock Down 2.0%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.93, a quick ratio of 2.34 and a current ratio of 2.36. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $7.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $7.19. The company has a market cap of $1.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.11 and a beta of 2.50.

Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by $0.69. The company had revenue of $239.24 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $149.19 million. Novavax had a negative return on equity of 142.33% and a net margin of 39.20%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 42.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.99 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Novavax, Inc. will post -1.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Novavax

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NVAX. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new position in shares of Novavax in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in Novavax during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $52,000. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Novavax by 47.2% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 9,739 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 3,122 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novavax during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $73,000. Finally, Kitching Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novavax during the 4th quarter worth approximately $89,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.