Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) Trading Down 5.7% - What's Next?

Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX - Get Free Report) traded down 5.7% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $8.90 and last traded at $8.98. 2,142,419 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 56% from the average session volume of 4,885,543 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.52.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NVAX has been the topic of several research reports. B. Riley reissued a "buy" rating and set a $26.00 price target (up from $23.00) on shares of Novavax in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Novavax from $31.00 to $25.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $19.00 price target on shares of Novavax in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $17.83.

Novavax Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 66.26 and a beta of 2.14. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $8.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $10.63.

Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.76) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.83) by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $84.51 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $65.80 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($1.26) earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 54.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Novavax, Inc. will post -1.31 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Novavax

In related news, Director James F. Young sold 4,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.48, for a total value of $39,008.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 57,160 shares of the company's stock, valued at $484,716.80. This represents a 7.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.02, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 21.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 14,150 shares of company stock worth $119,641. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Novavax

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NVAX. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake 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 in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC acquired a new position in Novavax during the second quarter worth about $161,000. Creative Planning raised its position in Novavax by 12.5% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 24,143 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $306,000 after acquiring an additional 2,692 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its holdings in Novavax by 110.3% in 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, OmniStar Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Novavax during the 3rd quarter valued at about $163,000. Institutional investors own 53.04% of the company's stock.

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.