Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) Shares Gap Up to $13.29

Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $13.29, but opened at $13.66. Novavax shares last traded at $13.86, with a volume of 1,436,192 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Novavax from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. B. Riley reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $23.00 target price (down from $25.00) on shares of Novavax in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Novavax from $12.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, June 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Novavax presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $15.80.

Novavax Stock Performance

The stock's 50 day moving average price is $12.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $10.84. The company has a market cap of $1.69 billion, a PE ratio of -3.80 and a beta of 2.04.

Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.82 by ($0.83). The business had revenue of $415.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $458.57 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.58 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Novavax, Inc. will post -1.04 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Creative Planning increased its position in shares of Novavax by 12.5% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 24,143 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $306,000 after acquiring an additional 2,692 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC bought a new position in Novavax during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $161,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Novavax by 9.5% in the 2nd quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC now owns 343,414 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $4,348,000 after buying an additional 29,834 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in shares of Novavax by 53.2% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 59,656 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $755,000 after buying an additional 20,709 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novavax during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,251,000. 53.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Novavax

Novavax, Inc, a biotechnology company, that promotes improved health by discovering, developing, and commercializing vaccines to protect against serious infectious diseases. It offers vaccine platform that combines a recombinant protein approach, nanoparticle technology, and its patented Matrix-M adjuvant to enhance the immune response.