Novavax Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:NVAX)

Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX) saw some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Stock traders acquired 28,763 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 66% compared to the typical daily volume of 17,376 call options.

Novavax Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NVAX stock opened at $9.55 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 2.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.13 and a beta of 2.74. Novavax has a 12-month low of $5.01 and a 12-month high of $15.09. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $8.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $7.24.

Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by $0.69. Novavax had a negative return on equity of 142.33% and a net margin of 39.20%.The business had revenue of $239.24 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $149.19 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.99 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 42.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Novavax will post -1.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. HC Wainwright started coverage on Novavax in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $10.00 price target for the company. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $7.00 target price (down previously from $9.00) on shares of Novavax in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on Novavax in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. They set a “sell” rating and a $6.00 target price on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $14.29.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Novavax

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in Novavax during the second quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in Novavax by 47.2% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 9,739 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 3,122 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Novavax in the second quarter worth $73,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich purchased a new position in Novavax during the first quarter worth $71,000. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. purchased a new position in Novavax during the second quarter worth $70,000. 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.