Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $6.25, but opened at $7.00. Novavax shares last traded at $7.37, with a volume of 3,817,211 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on NVAX shares. TD Cowen raised shares of Novavax to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. BTIG Research started coverage on shares of Novavax in a research note on Friday, February 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $19.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $18.00.

Novavax Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $7.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $8.43. The firm has a market cap of $1.14 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 3.15.

Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.51) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.75) by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $88.31 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $85.48 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($1.44) earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Novavax, Inc. will post -1.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Novavax

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sanofi bought a new position in shares of Novavax in the fourth quarter worth about $55,319,000. Deep Track Capital LP bought a new stake in Novavax during the 4th quarter worth approximately $16,080,000. Shah Capital Management lifted its holdings in Novavax by 13.6% during the fourth quarter. Shah Capital Management now owns 11,148,846 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $89,637,000 after purchasing an additional 1,333,305 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in shares of Novavax by 289.0% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 556,832 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $4,477,000 after purchasing an additional 413,676 shares during the period. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novavax in the fourth quarter worth $2,761,000. 53.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novavax Company Profile

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.