Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) Trading 4.4% Higher – Should You Buy?

Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX)’s share price traded up 4.4% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $13.10 and last traded at $13.08. 1,595,230 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 10,116,838 shares. The stock had previously closed at $12.53.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NVAX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. B. Riley reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $26.00 price target (up from $23.00) on shares of Novavax in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $31.00 target price on shares of Novavax in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Novavax from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $18.83.

Novavax Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $12.47 and its 200 day moving average is $11.57. The company has a market capitalization of $1.77 billion, a PE ratio of -4.18 and a beta of 2.04.

Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by ($0.83). The firm had revenue of $415.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $458.57 million. Novavax’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.58 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Novavax, Inc. will post -0.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Novavax

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Amalgamated Bank lifted its stake in Novavax by 26.9% in the 2nd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 4,887 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 1,036 shares in the last quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc boosted its position in shares of Novavax by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 44,900 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $568,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. grew its stake in Novavax by 23.7% in the 1st quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 12,753 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 2,447 shares in the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise increased its holdings in shares of Novavax by 500.0% in the 2nd quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 3,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 2,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning raised its position in shares of Novavax by 12.5% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 24,143 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $306,000 after buying an additional 2,692 shares in the last quarter. 53.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.