Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) Stock Price Up 11.6% After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Shares of Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX) traded up 11.6% on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $8.30 and last traded at $8.17. 2,620,975 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 40% from the average session volume of 4,336,841 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.32.

The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.51) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.75) by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $88.31 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $85.48 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($1.44) EPS.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $19.00 price objective on shares of Novavax in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. BTIG Research initiated coverage on Novavax in a research note on Friday. They set a “buy” rating and a $19.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $18.00.

Insider Transactions at Novavax

In related news, Director James F. Young sold 4,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.48, for a total transaction of $39,008.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 57,160 shares in the company, valued at $484,716.80. This represents a 7.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Rachel K. King sold 4,150 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.02, for a total transaction of $37,433.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 14,770 shares in the company, valued at $133,225.40. This represents a 21.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 14,150 shares of company stock worth $119,641. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Novavax

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NVAX. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new stake in shares of Novavax during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Spire Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Novavax in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novavax during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. KBC Group NV raised its position in Novavax by 97.0% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,954 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 3,917 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Novavax by 38.1% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 5,790 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 1,598 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 53.04% of the company’s stock.

Novavax Trading Down 3.6 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $8.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $10.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.12, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 2.14.

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.