Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) Stock Falls 12.9% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Novavax shares fell 12.9% to $9.59 in mid-day trading, with nearly 4.93 million shares changing hands.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but centers on a “Hold” consensus; the average price target is $13.14, while Citigroup maintained a “Sell” rating with an $8 target.
• Novavax beat quarterly EPS and revenue estimates, but revenue declined 76.2% year over year, and the company remained unprofitable with a negative net margin.

Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded down 12.9% on Thursday. The stock traded as low as $10.02 and last traded at $9.59. 4,927,966 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 5% from the average session volume of 5,174,835 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.01.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on NVAX shares. Citigroup restated a "sell" rating and set a $8.00 target price (up from $7.00) on shares of Novavax in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Wall Street Zen raised Novavax from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 12th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Novavax from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Novavax in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Novavax presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $13.14.

Novavax Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.65 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.57 and a beta of 2.44. The business's 50-day moving average price is $10.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $9.29.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Novavax

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its stake in Novavax by 9.0% in the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 65,260 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $705,000 after buying an additional 5,395 shares in the last quarter. TSP Capital Management Group LLC increased its position in shares of Novavax by 0.9% during the third quarter. TSP Capital Management Group LLC now owns 1,432,365 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $15,484,000 after acquiring an additional 13,000 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novavax during the second quarter worth $42,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novavax during the second quarter worth $1,258,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in shares of Novavax by 292.5% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 4,353 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 3,244 shares during the period. 53.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Novavax Company Profile

Novavax, Inc is a biotechnology company focused on developing and commercializing vaccines for infectious diseases. The company uses recombinant protein nanoparticle technology and its proprietary Matrix-M adjuvant to develop vaccines designed to stimulate targeted immune responses.

Novavax's principal commercial product is Nuvaxovid, also known as the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine, a protein-based vaccine developed to help prevent COVID-19. The vaccine has been authorized or approved in various markets, subject to local regulatory requirements, and the company has worked with governments, public-health organizations, and pharmaceutical partners to support its distribution internationally.

Founded in 1987, Novavax is headquartered in Gaithersburg, Maryland.

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