Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) Trading Down 6.5% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Novavax shares fell 6.5% to $9.21 in midday trading, with volume significantly below the stock’s average session volume.
• Analyst sentiment was mixed, with recent downgrades from several firms; the stock carries a consensus “Hold” rating and a $14 average price target.
• Novavax exceeded quarterly EPS and revenue estimates, but revenue declined 76.2% year over year, while the company remained unprofitable with a negative net margin.

Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX - Get Free Report)'s share price was down 6.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $9.12 and last traded at $9.21. 1,779,879 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 62% from the average session volume of 4,715,310 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.85.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on NVAX shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Novavax from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Novavax in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $19.00 price objective on shares of Novavax in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Novavax from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Five 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Novavax presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $14.00.

Novavax Stock Down 6.6%

The company has a fifty day moving average of $8.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $9.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.03 and a beta of 2.45.

Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.32) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $56.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $52.51 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.62 EPS. Novavax's quarterly revenue was down 76.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Novavax, Inc. will post -0.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Novavax by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,470,365 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $103,961,000 after purchasing an additional 275,802 shares during the period. Shah Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of Novavax by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Shah Capital Management now owns 14,845,097 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $120,839,000 after buying an additional 286,317 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Novavax by 32.3% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,523,646 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $63,999,000 after buying an additional 2,326,927 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of Novavax by 0.5% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,101,074 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $26,886,000 after buying an additional 15,685 shares in the last quarter. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in Novavax by 691.9% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 1,477,941 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $13,922,000 after acquiring an additional 1,291,303 shares during the period. 53.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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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