Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) Shares Up 11.6% After Strong Earnings

Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX - Get Free Report)'s stock price shot up 11.6% on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $8.30 and last traded at $8.17. 2,620,975 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 40% from the average session volume of 4,336,841 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.32.

The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.51) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.75) by $0.24. The business had revenue of $88.31 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $85.48 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($1.44) EPS.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on NVAX shares. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $19.00 price target on shares of Novavax in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. BTIG Research began coverage on Novavax in a report on Friday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $19.00 target price for the company. Finally, TD Cowen raised Novavax to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $18.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Novavax

In other news, Director James F. Young sold 5,400 shares of Novavax stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.00, for a total transaction of $43,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 51,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $414,080. This trade represents a 9.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Rachel K. King sold 4,150 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.02, for a total transaction of $37,433.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 14,770 shares of the company's stock, valued at $133,225.40. This represents a 21.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,150 shares of company stock worth $119,641 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

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Hedge Funds Weigh In On Novavax

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NVAX. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new stake in shares of Novavax during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new position in Novavax during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Novavax during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Novavax by 97.0% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,954 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 3,917 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Novavax by 38.1% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 5,790 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $77,000 after buying an additional 1,598 shares in the last quarter. 53.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Novavax Trading Down 5.5 %

The firm has a market cap of $1.26 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 2.14. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $8.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $9.95.

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.