Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX)

Key Points

• Novavax saw an 85% increase in call options trading, with traders purchasing 36,277 call options on Monday.
• Institutional investors currently own 53.04% of Novavax's stock, indicating significant interest and investment in the company.
• The company's recent quarterly earnings report showed a revenue increase to $239.24 million, surpassing estimates, despite a >42% decline compared to the previous year.

Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading on Monday. Stock investors purchased 36,277 call options on the stock. Thisisanincreaseofapproximately85% compared to the average daily volume of 19,617 call options.

Novavax Trading Up 2.8%

Shares of NASDAQ NVAX traded up $0.21 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $7.84. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,459,825 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,426,146. Novavax has a 12 month low of $5.01 and a 12 month high of $15.22. The stock has a market cap of $1.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.44, a P/E/G ratio of 0.10 and a beta of 2.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.93, a quick ratio of 2.34 and a current ratio of 2.36. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $7.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $7.19.

Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by $0.69. The business had revenue of $239.24 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $149.19 million. Novavax had a negative return on equity of 142.33% and a net margin of 39.20%.The business's revenue was down 42.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.99 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Novavax will post -1.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Novavax

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NVAX. Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in Novavax by 47.5% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 123,581 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $994,000 after purchasing an additional 39,787 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in shares of Novavax by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 101,812 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $817,000 after buying an additional 9,711 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Novavax by 28.8% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 76,576 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $616,000 after buying an additional 17,101 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in Novavax by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 135,486 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,089,000 after buying an additional 14,853 shares during the period. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its holdings in Novavax by 31.3% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 125,845 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,012,000 after buying an additional 29,981 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 53.04% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Novavax from $9.00 to $7.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. B. Riley reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Novavax in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Novavax in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. They set a "sell" rating and a $6.00 price target for the company. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and set a $7.00 price objective (down from $9.00) on shares of Novavax in a research note on Wednesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Novavax has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $15.57.

Novavax Company Profile

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.