Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) Shares Up 6.1% - Here's Why

Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX - Get Free Report)'s share price shot up 6.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $9.37 and last traded at $9.37. 2,534,306 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 50% from the average session volume of 5,101,912 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.83.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on NVAX. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $19.00 price target on shares of Novavax in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Novavax from $31.00 to $25.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, B. Riley restated a "buy" rating and set a $26.00 target price (up previously from $23.00) on shares of Novavax in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Novavax has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $17.83.

Novavax Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $1.53 billion, a PE ratio of -4.23 and a beta of 2.07. The company's 50-day moving average price is $8.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $10.95.

Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.76) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.83) by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $84.51 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $65.80 million. The company's revenue was down 54.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($1.26) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Novavax, Inc. will post -1.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Novavax news, Director James F. Young sold 5,400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.00, for a total value of $43,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 51,760 shares in the company, valued at $414,080. This represents a 9.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Rachel K. King sold 4,150 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.02, for a total value of $37,433.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 14,770 shares of the company's stock, valued at $133,225.40. The trade was a 21.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,150 shares of company stock valued at $119,641. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Novavax by 16.5% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,325,508 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $16,741,000 after purchasing an additional 187,548 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in shares of Novavax by 26.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 2,454,325 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $32,643,000 after acquiring an additional 517,727 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Novavax by 26.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,687,951 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $97,099,000 after acquiring an additional 1,621,772 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Novavax by 110.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 498,532 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $6,296,000 after acquiring an additional 261,464 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Novavax by 300.4% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 97,162 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,226,000 after acquiring an additional 72,894 shares during the last quarter. 53.04% of the stock is currently owned by 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.

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