Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX)

Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX) saw unusually large options trading on Thursday. Stock traders acquired 27,036 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 145% compared to the average volume of 11,038 call options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Novavax

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Novavax by 11.0% during the third quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 12,755 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $111,000 after purchasing an additional 1,268 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in Novavax by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 155,743 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,350,000 after buying an additional 1,529 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Novavax by 25.8% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 7,896 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 1,617 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of Novavax by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 78,048 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $492,000 after buying an additional 1,718 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Novavax by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 34,095 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $215,000 after buying an additional 1,766 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 53.04% of the company’s stock.

Novavax Stock Up 16.0%

Shares of Novavax stock traded up $1.52 during trading on Thursday, reaching $11.05. 13,800,141 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,310,455. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.80 billion, a PE ratio of 6.22 and a beta of 2.58. Novavax has a 1-year low of $5.01 and a 1-year high of $11.97. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $8.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $8.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.93, a current ratio of 2.27 and a quick ratio of 2.24.

Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.66) by $0.77. The firm had revenue of $136.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.26 million. Novavax had a net margin of 32.10% and a negative return on equity of 217.02%. The business’s revenue was up 66.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.51) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Novavax will post -1.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novavax News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Novavax this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results and full‑year summary beat estimates — Novavax reported Q4 GAAP EPS of $0.11 and quarterly revenue well above consensus; full‑year 2025 revenue was ~ $1.1B and the company reported positive net income, signaling better profitability and topline recovery. Novavax posts Q4 revenue beat and net income for 2025
• Positive Sentiment: Material partnership and milestone cashflows drove 2025 revenue and liquidity — Novavax collected $225M from the Sanofi partnership in 2025, signed a non‑exclusive Matrix‑M license with Pfizer in Jan 2026, and reported year‑end cash of ~$751M, improving its financial runway. Novavax Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Financial Results and Operational Highlights
• Positive Sentiment: Management raised its adjusted 2026 revenue outlook citing strength in vaccine deals and expected milestone payments, which supports near‑term revenue visibility despite variable demand. Novavax raises 2026 adjusted revenue outlook on strength in vaccine deals
• Neutral Sentiment: Operational progress — multiple material transfer agreements and early‑stage pipeline advancement announced; company expects first clinic entry as early as 2027, which is positive long term but not an immediate revenue driver. Novavax Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Financial Results and Operational Highlights
• Negative Sentiment: 2026 revenue guidance appears conservative versus Street — the company’s provided FY‑2026 revenue range (~$230M–$270M in filings/comments) is materially below analyst consensus (~$402M), which tempers upside and likely explains the muted market reaction despite the beat. Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) Surprises With Strong Q4 CY2025
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction muted — some outlets note shares were initially subdued premarket before modest gains, indicating investors are cautious about sustainability of revenue and reliance on milestone/licensing payments. Novavax shares subdued despite earnings, revenue beat

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Novavax from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, January 31st. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 price objective on shares of Novavax in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Novavax from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Novavax from $7.00 to $6.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. Finally, B. Riley Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $16.00 price target (down from $18.00) on shares of Novavax in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $11.25.

About Novavax

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.