Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) Trading Up 6.9% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Novavax shares rose 6.9% to about $9.00 in Friday trading, with volume below the stock’s average daily level.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: five analysts rate Novavax a Buy, two Hold, and two Sell, resulting in a consensus Hold rating and an average price target of $14.00.
• Novavax beat quarterly expectations with an adjusted loss of $0.32 per share and revenue of $56.7 million, but revenue fell 76.2% year over year and the company continued to report negative profitability metrics.

Shares of Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX - Get Free Report) traded up 6.9% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $9.10 and last traded at $9.00. Approximately 2,945,177 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 36% from the average daily volume of 4,623,850 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.42.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on NVAX shares. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Novavax in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Novavax from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Zacks Research cut shares of Novavax from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $19.00 target price on shares of Novavax in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Novavax from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $14.00.

Novavax Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $8.48 and a 200 day moving average of $8.91. The company has a market capitalization of $1.49 billion, a PE ratio of -5.93 and a beta of 2.46.

Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.32) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.38) by $0.06. Novavax had a negative net margin of 59.87% and a negative return on equity of 14.82%. The business had revenue of $56.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $52.51 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.62 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 76.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Novavax, Inc. will post -0.43 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Novavax

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NVAX. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Novavax during the third quarter valued at $33,000. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of Novavax by 917.3% during the 1st quarter. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. now owns 4,242 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 3,825 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of Novavax by 34.9% in the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,746 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,229 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in shares of Novavax in the third quarter worth approximately $64,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in Novavax by 25.8% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 7,896 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 1,617 shares during the period. 53.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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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