Novavax Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:NVAX)

Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock traders bought 41,513 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 109% compared to the average volume of 19,859 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on NVAX. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 price objective on shares of Novavax in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. B. Riley reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $26.00 target price (up from $23.00) on shares of Novavax in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Novavax from $31.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $17.83.

Insider Transactions at Novavax

In other news, Director Rachel K. King sold 4,150 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.02, for a total transaction of $37,433.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $133,225.40. The trade was a 21.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director James F. Young sold 4,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.48, for a total value of $39,008.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 57,160 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $484,716.80. The trade was a 7.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 14,150 shares of company stock worth $119,641. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NVAX. Amalgamated Bank lifted its position in shares of Novavax by 26.9% in the second quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 4,887 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 1,036 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Novavax by 38.1% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 5,790 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 1,598 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in shares of Novavax by 3,538.8% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 12,299 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $155,000 after acquiring an additional 11,961 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Novavax during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $158,000. Finally, Algert Global LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novavax in the second quarter valued at $161,000. 53.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novavax Trading Down 11.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ NVAX opened at $9.60 on Thursday. Novavax has a 12-month low of $3.53 and a 12-month high of $23.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.25 and a beta of 2.07. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $8.70 and a 200 day moving average of $11.25.

Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.76) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.83) by $0.07. The company had revenue of $84.51 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $65.80 million. During the same period last year, the business earned ($1.26) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 54.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Novavax will post -1.44 EPS for the current year.

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.