Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) Trading Down 6.9% – Here’s Why

Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX) shares were down 6.9% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $8.36 and last traded at $8.2850. 1,797,652 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 63% from the average daily volume of 4,923,079 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.90.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on NVAX. B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Novavax in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. HC Wainwright boosted their target price on Novavax from $11.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Weiss Ratings cut Novavax from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Novavax from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Novavax in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.00.

Novavax Stock Down 5.6%

The company has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.49 and a beta of 2.45. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $9.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $8.69.

Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.06) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.25) by $0.19. Novavax had a negative net margin of 14.73% and a negative return on equity of 14.82%. The firm had revenue of $118.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.81 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.93 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 79.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Novavax, Inc. will post -0.19 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Novavax by 95.2% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 44,427 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $285,000 after acquiring an additional 21,663 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in Novavax by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 104,562 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $678,000 after purchasing an additional 2,750 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Novavax during the 1st quarter valued at $158,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in shares of Novavax by 16.4% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 312,789 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,005,000 after buying an additional 44,105 shares during the period. Finally, Strs Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Novavax in the first quarter worth $167,000. Institutional investors own 53.04% of the company’s stock.

Novavax Company Profile

Novavax, Inc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company headquartered in Gaithersburg, Maryland, that specializes in the discovery, development and commercialization of next-generation vaccines to prevent serious infectious diseases. Founded in 1987, the company has built a platform based on recombinant nanoparticle technology and its proprietary Matrix-M™ adjuvant to enhance immune responses.

The company’s lead product is NVX-CoV2373, a protein-based vaccine designed to elicit a robust immune response against the SARS-CoV-2 virus.