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

Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $7.03, but opened at $6.78. Novavax shares last traded at $6.78, with a volume of 1,072,648 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on NVAX. TD Cowen upgraded Novavax to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of Novavax in a research report on Friday, February 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $19.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Novavax from $9.00 to $7.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Novavax in a research report on Tuesday. They set a “sell” rating and a $6.00 target price for the company. Finally, B. Riley reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Novavax in a report on Monday, May 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Novavax currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $17.00.

Novavax Price Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $6.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $7.67. The stock has a market cap of $1.02 billion, a PE ratio of 2.38, a P/E/G ratio of 0.07 and a beta of 2.80.

Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $2.22. Novavax had a net margin of 38.14% and a negative return on equity of 115.51%. The company had revenue of $666.66 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $204.08 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($1.05) EPS. Novavax’s revenue for the quarter was up 610.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Novavax, Inc. will post -1.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Novavax

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in shares of Novavax by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 208,464 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,676,000 after buying an additional 13,024 shares during the period. Beirne Wealth Consulting Services LLC grew its stake in Novavax by 65.0% during the fourth quarter. Beirne Wealth Consulting Services LLC now owns 16,500 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $133,000 after acquiring an additional 6,500 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Novavax by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 436,451 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,509,000 after acquiring an additional 1,664 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Novavax by 70.1% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 170,117 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,368,000 after acquiring an additional 70,117 shares during the period. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in Novavax by 262.7% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 43,573 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $350,000 after purchasing an additional 31,559 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 53.04% of the company’s stock.

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.