Wall Street Zen Upgrades Dynavax Technologies (NASDAQ:DVAX) to “Strong-Buy”

Dynavax Technologies (NASDAQ:DVAX) was upgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Dynavax Technologies in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. William Blair downgraded shares of Dynavax Technologies from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $24.33.

Dynavax Technologies Price Performance

NASDAQ:DVAX opened at $15.50 on Friday. Dynavax Technologies has a 52 week low of $9.20 and a 52 week high of $15.73. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $14.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.81. The company has a market capitalization of $1.82 billion, a P/E ratio of -41.89 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 6.94, a current ratio of 7.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO David F. Novack sold 114,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.64, for a total value of $1,782,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 63,344 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $990,700.16. This trade represents a 64.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.98% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Dynavax Technologies

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its holdings in Dynavax Technologies by 109.9% in the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 173,140 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,719,000 after purchasing an additional 90,641 shares in the last quarter. Capital Fund Management S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Dynavax Technologies during the second quarter worth about $1,669,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of Dynavax Technologies by 50.4% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 200,976 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,996,000 after purchasing an additional 67,375 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Dynavax Technologies by 3,639.9% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 322,119 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,199,000 after buying an additional 313,506 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hudson Bay Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Dynavax Technologies by 46.4% in the second quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 541,600 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,373,000 after acquiring an additional 171,700 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.96% of the company’s stock.

About Dynavax Technologies

Dynavax Technologies Corporation is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of novel vaccines and immunotherapies. Headquartered in Emeryville, California, the company specializes in leveraging its proprietary Toll-like receptor (TLR) agonist platform to enhance immune responses. Its lead product, HEPLISAV-B, is a two-dose hepatitis B vaccine approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that incorporates the CpG 1018 adjuvant to stimulate a rapid and robust antibody response in adults.

Founded in 1993, Dynavax has built a pipeline that extends beyond hepatitis B to include candidates targeting seasonal influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and emerging infectious diseases.