Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) Lowered to Sell Rating by Wall Street Zen

Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report issued on Saturday.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on NVAX. B. Riley reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $16.00 price target (down previously from $18.00) on shares of Novavax in a research note on Monday, November 10th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $19.00 target price on shares of Novavax in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Novavax from $7.00 to $6.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Novavax from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, HC Wainwright boosted their price objective on Novavax from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $11.25.

Novavax Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NVAX opened at $8.85 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.94 and a beta of 2.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.93, a current ratio of 2.27 and a quick ratio of 2.24. Novavax has a 12 month low of $5.01 and a 12 month high of $10.64. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $7.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $7.80.

Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.25) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.08) by ($0.17). The company had revenue of $70.45 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.63 million. Novavax had a net margin of 32.10% and a negative return on equity of 217.02%. Novavax’s revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.76) EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Novavax will post -1.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Novavax

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Novavax in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Novavax in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in shares of Novavax in the 2nd quarter valued at about $52,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Novavax by 25.8% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 7,896 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 1,617 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in shares of Novavax by 47.2% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 9,739 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 3,122 shares during the period. 53.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Novavax

Novavax, Inc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company headquartered in Gaithersburg, Maryland, that specializes in the discovery, development and commercialization of next-generation vaccines to prevent serious infectious diseases. Founded in 1987, the company has built a platform based on recombinant nanoparticle technology and its proprietary Matrix-M™ adjuvant to enhance immune responses.

The company’s lead product is NVX-CoV2373, a protein-based vaccine designed to elicit a robust immune response against the SARS-CoV-2 virus.