Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Hold” Rating

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning.

NVAX has been the subject of several other research reports. HC Wainwright upped their price target on shares of Novavax from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Novavax from $7.00 to $6.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 price target on shares of Novavax in a report on Tuesday. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on Novavax in a research report on Friday, October 24th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $18.00 price target on the stock. Finally, B. Riley restated a “buy” rating and set a $16.00 price objective (down from $18.00) on shares of Novavax in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $11.25.

Novavax Trading Down 5.9%

NASDAQ:NVAX opened at $9.17 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $7.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $7.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.12 and a beta of 2.37. Novavax has a 1-year low of $5.01 and a 1-year high of $10.64. The company has a quick ratio of 2.24, a current ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.93.

Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.25) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.08) by ($0.17). Novavax had a net margin of 32.10% and a negative return on equity of 217.02%. The firm had revenue of $70.45 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.63 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.76) earnings per share. Novavax’s quarterly revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Novavax will post -1.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Shah Capital Management grew its stake 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 valued at $97,835,000 after buying an additional 2,747,000 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its position in Novavax by 162.6% in the third quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,409,734 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $12,222,000 after acquiring an additional 872,987 shares in the last quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC grew its position in Novavax by 4,775.0% in the third quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 780,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $6,763,000 after acquiring an additional 764,000 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Novavax by 195.9% during the 2nd quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 880,410 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,547,000 after purchasing an additional 582,858 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Novavax during the 3rd quarter valued at $3,874,000. 53.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.