Novavax Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:NVAX)

Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading on Friday. Investors purchased 35,552 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 124% compared to the typical volume of 15,904 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on NVAX. BTIG Research assumed coverage on Novavax in a research report on Friday, February 28th. They set a "buy" rating and a $19.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Novavax to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Novavax from $9.00 to $7.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, B. Riley reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Novavax in a report on Monday. One analyst has 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 data from MarketBeat.com, Novavax has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $19.00.

Novavax Stock Performance

Shares of NVAX stock traded down $0.12 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $7.18. The company had a trading volume of 4,124,203 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,330,883. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.17, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 3.21. Novavax has a 12 month low of $5.01 and a 12 month high of $23.86. The firm's fifty day moving average is $6.63 and its 200 day moving average is $7.85.

Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $2.22. The firm had revenue of $666.66 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $204.08 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($1.05) earnings per share. Novavax's quarterly revenue was up 610.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Novavax will post -1.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Novavax

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Shah Capital Management raised its position in shares of Novavax by 13.6% during the fourth quarter. Shah Capital Management now owns 11,148,846 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $89,637,000 after acquiring an additional 1,333,305 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in Novavax by 14.9% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 41,793 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $336,000 after purchasing an additional 5,407 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Novavax by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 436,451 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $3,509,000 after purchasing an additional 1,664 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Novavax by 28.8% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 76,576 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $616,000 after purchasing an additional 17,101 shares during the period. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in shares of Novavax by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 208,464 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,676,000 after purchasing an additional 13,024 shares during the last quarter. 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.