Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Here’s Why

Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Tuesday . 3,015,795 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 34% from the previous session’s volume of 4,539,189 shares.The stock last traded at $11.13 and had previously closed at $9.76.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NVAX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. B. Riley reaffirmed 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. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $19.00 price objective on shares of Novavax in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Novavax from $31.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $17.83.

Novavax Trading Up 12.4 %

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $8.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $11.28. The stock has a market cap of $1.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.85 and a beta of 2.07.

Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.76) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.83) by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $84.51 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $65.80 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($1.26) EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 54.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Novavax, Inc. will post -1.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Novavax

In other news, Director James F. Young sold 4,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.48, for a total value of $39,008.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 57,160 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $484,716.80. This represents a 7.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Rachel K. King sold 4,150 shares of Novavax stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.02, for a total value of $37,433.00. Following the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,150 shares of company stock valued at $119,641 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Novavax

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Novavax by 300.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 97,162 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,226,000 after acquiring an additional 72,894 shares in the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Novavax during the 3rd quarter valued at $714,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Novavax by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,502,489 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $44,245,000 after purchasing an additional 304,159 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Novavax by 73.9% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 709,579 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $8,961,000 after purchasing an additional 301,627 shares in the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd increased its position in Novavax by 147.6% during the third quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 63,126 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $797,000 after buying an additional 37,631 shares during the last quarter. 53.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Novavax

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.