Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) Shares Gap Up After Strong Earnings

Shares of Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $6.73, but opened at $7.21. Novavax shares last traded at $7.92, with a volume of 7,809,034 shares trading hands.

The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.12) by $0.74. Novavax had a negative return on equity of 115.51% and a net margin of 38.14%. The firm had revenue of $239.24 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $149.19 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.99 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 42.4% on a year-over-year basis.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on NVAX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Novavax from $9.00 to $7.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. Citigroup began coverage on Novavax in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $6.00 target price for the company. Bank of America reduced their target price on Novavax from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, B. Riley reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Novavax in a report on Monday, May 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $15.86.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NVAX. Sanofi purchased a new position in shares of Novavax in the fourth quarter valued at $55,319,000. Park West Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novavax in the first quarter valued at $16,210,000. Deep Track Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Novavax in the fourth quarter valued at $16,080,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in shares of Novavax in the second quarter valued at $3,382,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novavax in the first quarter valued at $3,280,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 53.04% of the company’s stock.

Novavax Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $1.23 billion, a PE ratio of 2.86, a PEG ratio of 0.08 and a beta of 2.50. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $6.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $7.21.

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.