Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) Shares Up 8.9% – Here’s Why

Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX) shares rose 8.9% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $9.30 and last traded at $9.22. Approximately 2,390,085 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 9,647,690 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.47.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group cut 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. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $19.00 price objective on shares of Novavax in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Novavax from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, B. Riley reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $26.00 price target (up from $23.00) on shares of Novavax in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $17.83.

Novavax Stock Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $10.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $12.63. The stock has a market cap of $1.49 billion, a PE ratio of -4.09 and a beta of 2.10.

Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.76) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.83) by $0.07. The company had revenue of $84.51 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $65.80 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($1.26) EPS. Novavax’s revenue was down 54.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Novavax, Inc. will post -1.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Novavax

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Shah Capital Management boosted its position in Novavax by 19.0% in the second quarter. Shah Capital Management now owns 9,662,090 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $122,322,000 after purchasing an additional 1,544,263 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its position in Novavax by 110.3% during the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 498,532 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $6,296,000 after buying an additional 261,464 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in Novavax during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,251,000. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in Novavax by 29.9% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 37,203 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $178,000 after acquiring an additional 8,570 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Novavax by 940.7% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,154,276 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $14,579,000 after acquiring an additional 1,043,363 shares during the last quarter. 53.04% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.