HC Wainwright Issues Positive Forecast for Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) Stock Price

Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) had its price target increased by HC Wainwright from $11.00 to $16.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. HC Wainwright currently has a buy rating on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the stock. B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $16.00 price objective (down from $18.00) on shares of Novavax in a research note on Monday, November 10th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 price target on shares of Novavax in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Novavax from $7.00 to $6.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. Wall Street Zen lowered Novavax from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Novavax in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Novavax currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $11.88.

Novavax Price Performance

NVAX traded down $1.05 during trading on Friday, reaching $10.14. 10,214,821 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,427,895. The company has a market cap of $1.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 2.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.93, a quick ratio of 2.24 and a current ratio of 2.27. Novavax has a 12-month low of $5.01 and a 12-month high of $11.97. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $8.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $8.03.

Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.66) by $0.77. Novavax had a net margin of 39.19% and a negative return on equity of 836.17%. The firm had revenue of $136.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.26 million. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 66.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.51) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Novavax will post -1.46 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Novavax

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

Key Stories Impacting Novavax

Here are the key news stories impacting Novavax this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat: Novavax reported a surprise GAAP profit (EPS $0.11) and ~67% year‑over‑year revenue growth, driven by licensing/milestone revenues — the core reason the stock jumped on the news. Novavax Stock Gains as Q4 Earnings & Sales Beat Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Strong operational highlights and balance sheet: Full‑year 2025 revenue of ~$1.1B, $225M Sanofi milestones earned, and year‑end cash of ~$751M reduce short‑term financing risk and support pipeline investments. Novavax Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Financial Results and Operational Highlights
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade: HC Wainwright raised its price target to $16 and kept a Buy rating, signaling bullish conviction from at least one sell‑side shop. Benzinga
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor access: Management will present at upcoming investor conferences (TD Cowen fireside chat, others) — useful for transparency but not a near‑term catalyst by itself. Novavax to Participate in Upcoming Investor Conferences
• Neutral Sentiment: Market activity: Unusual options flow showed heavy call buying around the earnings move, indicating elevated short‑term speculative interest. (This reflects trader positioning, not fundamental change.)
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call transcript posted for deeper detail on results and guidance assumptions. Novavax, Inc. (NVAX) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: 2026 revenue guidance disappointed relative to consensus: Management guided revenue of $230M–$270M for 2026, well below street estimates (~$402M), creating concern about demand trends and prompting profit‑taking. Novavax Q4 Press Release / Guidance
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst caution remains: Some analysts argue the bull case needs more proof despite the beat — concerns on sustainability of licensing revenue, product demand and execution could cap multiple expansion. Novavax: The Bear Case Is Broken, But The Bull Case Needs More Proof

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.