Traders Purchase Large Volume of Put Options on Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX)

Key Points

• Put-option activity surged: Traders purchased 29,212 Novavax put options, 172% above the average volume, signaling elevated bearish or hedging interest.
• Novavax shares fell $0.27 to $9.17, while the company reported better-than-expected quarterly EPS and revenue but faced a 76.2% year-over-year revenue decline and continued losses.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with the stock holding an overall “Hold” rating and a $14 average price target; hedge funds and other institutions own 53.04% of shares.

Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders acquired 29,212 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 172% compared to the average volume of 10,759 put options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Novavax

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NVAX. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Novavax in the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. grew its position in Novavax by 917.3% in the first quarter. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. now owns 4,242 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 3,825 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its position in Novavax by 34.9% in the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,746 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,229 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming acquired a new position in shares of Novavax during the 2nd quarter worth $52,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Novavax by 25.8% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 7,896 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 1,617 shares in the last quarter. 53.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novavax Price Performance

Novavax stock traded down $0.27 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $9.17. The company had a trading volume of 2,449,866 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,681,603. Novavax has a fifty-two week low of $6.20 and a fifty-two week high of $11.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.51 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.03 and a beta of 2.46. The firm's fifty day moving average is $8.48 and its 200-day moving average is $8.92.

Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.32) 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 period in the previous year, the company posted $0.62 EPS. Novavax's revenue was down 76.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Novavax will post -0.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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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