Shah Capital Management Purchases 2,747,000 Shares of Novavax, Inc. $NVAX

Shah Capital Management increased its position in Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX) by 23.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,558,780 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,747,000 shares during the quarter. Novavax comprises about 18.9% of Shah Capital Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Shah Capital Management owned about 8.96% of Novavax worth $97,835,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Novavax by 95.2% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 44,427 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $285,000 after purchasing an additional 21,663 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Novavax by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 104,562 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $678,000 after purchasing an additional 2,750 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new stake in Novavax during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $158,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in Novavax by 16.4% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 312,789 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,005,000 after purchasing an additional 44,105 shares during the period. Finally, Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in Novavax in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $167,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 53.04% of the company’s stock.

Novavax Trading Down 4.3%

Shares of NVAX opened at $8.09 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $9.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $8.28. The company has a quick ratio of 2.10, a current ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 2.54. Novavax, Inc. has a 12-month low of $5.01 and a 12-month high of $11.97.

Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.66) by $0.77. The company had revenue of $136.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.26 million. Novavax had a negative return on equity of 673.17% and a net margin of 39.19%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 66.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.51) EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Novavax, Inc. will post -1.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on NVAX shares. Wall Street Zen raised Novavax from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Novavax from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Novavax in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. HC Wainwright upped their target price on shares of Novavax from $11.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $19.00 price target on shares of Novavax in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Novavax presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $11.88.

Novavax Profile

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.