Novavax Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:NVAX)

Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Stock traders acquired 18,451 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 61% compared to the typical daily volume of 11,433 put options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NVAX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Novavax from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. B. Riley Financial restated a “buy” rating on shares of Novavax in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Zacks Research raised shares of Novavax from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 price target on shares of Novavax in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Novavax from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, May 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.00.

Novavax News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Novavax this week:

• Negative Sentiment: Novavax was removed from several major Russell growth and small-cap indices, which could reduce demand from passive index funds and force benchmark-tracking investors to trim exposure. Novavax (NVAX) Dropped From Major Russell Growth Indices And Why It Matters
• Negative Sentiment: Options trading turned bearish, with unusually large put buying signaling that some traders are positioning for downside or hedging against further weakness.
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks Research raised its earnings estimates for Novavax for Q1 2027, Q2 2027, and FY2027 and maintained a Strong-Buy rating, but the revisions were not enough to offset the index-removal headline.
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent commentary also noted Novavax has outperformed some peers despite a recent pullback, suggesting sentiment remains mixed rather than uniformly bearish. Novavax (NVAX) Suffers a Larger Drop Than the General Market: Key Insights

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Novavax

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Shah Capital Management boosted its holdings in shares of Novavax by 23.3% in the 4th quarter. Shah Capital Management now owns 14,558,780 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $97,835,000 after buying an additional 2,747,000 shares during the last quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Novavax by 4,775.0% during the third quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 780,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $6,763,000 after buying an additional 764,000 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG raised its position in Novavax by 40.3% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 4,894,284 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $32,890,000 after acquiring an additional 1,405,981 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Novavax by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,470,365 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $103,961,000 after acquiring an additional 275,802 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Novavax by 107.1% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 199,106 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,338,000 after acquiring an additional 102,945 shares during the last quarter. 53.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novavax Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NVAX traded down $0.07 on Friday, hitting $9.33. The stock had a trading volume of 5,095,792 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,967,778. The stock has a market cap of $1.53 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.09 and a beta of 2.43. Novavax has a 1 year low of $6.20 and a 1 year high of $11.97. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $9.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $8.90.

Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.06) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.25) by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $118.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.81 million. Novavax had a negative return on equity of 14.82% and a negative net margin of 14.73%.The company’s revenue was down 79.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.93 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Novavax will post -0.19 EPS for the current year.

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.