Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) Hits New 12-Month High on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $11.32 and last traded at $11.2660, with a volume of 4677968 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $9.53.

The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.66) by $0.77. The business had revenue of $136.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.26 million. Novavax had a negative return on equity of 217.02% and a net margin of 32.10%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 66.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.51) EPS.

Trending Headlines about Novavax

Here are the key news stories impacting Novavax this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat — Novavax reported a surprise GAAP profit (EPS $0.11) and materially beat revenue expectations (Q4 revenue ~ $147M), driving the initial rally. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Raised 2026 adjusted revenue outlook — management said milestone and licensing payments (from partners) should offset weaker end-market demand, supporting revenue expectations for 2026. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Partnerships and milestones — Company highlighted a $225M Sanofi milestone earned in 2025 and a January 2026 non‑exclusive Matrix‑M licensing agreement with Pfizer, which underpin near-term cash generation and validation of the adjuvant platform. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Solid balance sheet and cost progress — Novavax ended 2025 with roughly $751M in cash and reported R&D and SG&A reductions, reducing financing risk and increasing runway for pipeline work. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor events — Management will present at upcoming investor conferences (TD Cowen fireside chat on March 3), which gives investors a chance to hear management’s outlook and Q&A. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call transcript available — The full Q4 earnings call transcript and slides give detail on product deliveries, milestone timing and pipeline timing for investors who want to dig deeper. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Cautious FY‑2026 revenue guide — Management issued FY‑2026 revenue guidance (approximately $230M–$270M), which is well below consensus estimates and implies near‑term demand weakness; this tempered some upside despite the beat. (Guidance disclosed in company materials and filings.)

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NVAX has been the topic of several analyst reports. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Novavax from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Novavax from $7.00 to $6.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Novavax in a report on Monday, December 29th. B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $16.00 target price (down from $18.00) on shares of Novavax in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $19.00 price target on shares of Novavax in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $11.25.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Novavax in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC bought a new position in Novavax during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in Novavax in the third quarter valued at about $64,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Novavax by 25.8% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 7,896 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 1,617 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in shares of Novavax during the second quarter worth approximately $52,000. 53.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novavax Stock Up 17.4%

The company has a market cap of $1.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.25 and a beta of 2.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.93, a current ratio of 2.27 and a quick ratio of 2.24. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $8.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $8.02.

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.