Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) Trading Up 6.6% – What’s Next?

Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX) shares traded up 6.6% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $8.67 and last traded at $8.57. 1,244,773 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 9,060,255 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.04.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NVAX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Novavax from $31.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. B. Riley restated a “buy” rating and issued a $26.00 price target (up from $23.00) on shares of Novavax in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 price objective on shares of Novavax in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $17.83.

Novavax Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $1.42 billion, a PE ratio of -3.92 and a beta of 2.07. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $8.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.34.

Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.76) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.83) by $0.07. The company had revenue of $84.51 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $65.80 million. The company’s revenue was down 54.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($1.26) earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Novavax, Inc. will post -1.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Novavax

In other news, Director Rachel K. King sold 4,150 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.02, for a total transaction of $37,433.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 14,770 shares in the company, valued at $133,225.40. This trade represents a 21.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director James F. Young sold 5,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.00, for a total value of $43,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 51,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $414,080. The trade was a 9.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 14,150 shares of company stock worth $119,641. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Novavax

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Amalgamated Bank lifted its holdings in Novavax by 26.9% during the second quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 4,887 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 1,036 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Novavax by 38.1% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 5,790 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $77,000 after buying an additional 1,598 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in Novavax by 3,538.8% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 12,299 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $155,000 after buying an additional 11,961 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Novavax in the 3rd quarter worth about $158,000. Finally, Algert Global LLC purchased a new stake in Novavax during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $161,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 53.04% of the company’s stock.

About Novavax

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.