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

Key Points

• Novavax saw unusually heavy put activity on Friday, with investors buying 18,451 put options, about 61% above the average daily volume.
• The stock slipped to $9.29 and traded below its average volume, while shares remain within a 52-week range of $6.20 to $11.97.
• Analysts are mixed on NVAX: the consensus rating is Hold with a $13.00 price target, even as some firms upgraded the stock and reiterated buy ratings.

Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading on Friday. Stock investors acquired 18,451 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 61% compared to the average volume of 11,433 put options.

Novavax Stock Performance

NVAX stock traded down $0.10 during trading on Friday, reaching $9.29. The company had a trading volume of 3,826,937 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,899,562. The company has a market cap of $1.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.08 and a beta of 2.43. Novavax has a twelve month low of $6.20 and a twelve month high of $11.97. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $9.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $8.90.

Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.25) by $0.19. Novavax had a negative net margin of 14.73% and a negative return on equity of 14.82%. The business had revenue of $118.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $79.81 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.93 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 79.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Novavax will post -0.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on NVAX shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Novavax from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, May 31st. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Novavax from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Zacks Research raised Novavax from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Novavax in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $19.00 target price on shares of Novavax in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $13.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Novavax

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Shah Capital Management raised its stake in shares of Novavax by 23.3% during the 4th quarter. Shah Capital Management now owns 14,558,780 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $97,835,000 after buying an additional 2,747,000 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Novavax by 32.3% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,523,646 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $63,999,000 after purchasing an additional 2,326,927 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG raised its position in shares of Novavax by 40.3% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 4,894,284 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $32,890,000 after purchasing an additional 1,405,981 shares during the last quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Novavax by 4,775.0% in the 3rd quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 780,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $6,763,000 after buying an additional 764,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Monaco Asset Management SAM lifted its stake in Novavax by 161.3% in the 4th quarter. Monaco Asset Management SAM now owns 1,045,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $7,022,000 after buying an additional 645,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 53.04% of the company's stock.

Novavax Company Profile

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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