B. Riley Boosts Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) Price Target to $29.00

Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) had its target price lifted by B. Riley from $11.00 to $29.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a buy rating and set a $19.00 price target on shares of Novavax in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Bank of America raised Novavax from an underperform rating to a neutral rating and upped their target price for the company from $4.00 to $12.00 in a research note on Friday, May 10th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Novavax from $5.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Novavax from an underweight rating to a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Novavax currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $17.50.

Novavax Price Performance

Shares of NVAX stock opened at $15.50 on Thursday. Novavax has a 1 year low of $3.53 and a 1 year high of $17.40. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $6.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $5.52. The company has a market cap of $2.18 billion, a PE ratio of -4.89 and a beta of 1.63.

Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 10th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.05) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.04) by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $93.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $71.32 million. The business’s revenue was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($3.41) earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Novavax will post -0.61 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Filip Dubovsky sold 47,312 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.90, for a total value of $657,636.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 38,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $541,446.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Novavax

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its position in Novavax by 14.6% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 17,307 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $125,000 after purchasing an additional 2,201 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. increased its holdings in Novavax by 23.7% during the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 12,753 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 2,447 shares during the period. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. increased its holdings in Novavax by 31.6% during the first quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 11,298 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 2,711 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Novavax by 11.1% during the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 40,533 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $293,000 after buying an additional 4,045 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in Novavax during the first quarter worth $26,000. 53.04% of the stock is 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.