Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) Shares Gap Up to $13.29

Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $13.29, but opened at $13.66. Novavax shares last traded at $13.86, with a volume of 1,436,192 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on NVAX shares. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Novavax from $12.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Novavax from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, B. Riley reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $23.00 target price (down from $25.00) on shares of Novavax in a research report on Monday, August 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $15.80.

Novavax Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $12.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.83. The company has a market capitalization of $1.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.41 and a beta of 2.04.

Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.82 by ($0.83). The company had revenue of $415.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $458.57 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.58 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Novavax, Inc. will post -1.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Novavax

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Novavax in the fourth quarter worth $72,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its stake in shares of Novavax by 45.9% during the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 634,692 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,047,000 after purchasing an additional 199,771 shares in the last quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Novavax by 62.4% during the 4th quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 1,611,840 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $7,737,000 after buying an additional 619,370 shares during the last quarter. Pennant Investors LP bought a new stake in shares of Novavax in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $289,000. Finally, Coatue Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novavax in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $7,294,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 53.04% of the company’s stock.

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.