Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) Shares Down 5.4% – Should You Sell?

Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX)’s share price dropped 5.4% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $7.58 and last traded at $7.5850. Approximately 2,011,079 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 61% from the average daily volume of 5,114,001 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.02.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Novavax Trading Down 4.8%

The company has a market cap of $1.24 billion, a PE ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 2.64. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $9.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $8.28.

Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.66) by $0.77. Novavax had a negative return on equity of 673.17% and a net margin of 39.19%.The business had revenue of $136.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.26 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.51) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 66.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Novavax, Inc. will post -1.46 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Novavax

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Novavax during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novavax in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in shares of Novavax in the third quarter worth $64,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in 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 valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 1,617 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming bought a new position in Novavax in the second quarter valued at about $52,000. 53.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.