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

Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX) saw some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors purchased 24,027 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 99% compared to the typical volume of 12,104 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on NVAX. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Novavax in a research report on Friday, October 24th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $18.00 price objective on the stock. B. Riley reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $16.00 price target (down previously from $18.00) on shares of Novavax in a report on Monday, November 10th. HC Wainwright boosted their price objective on Novavax from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Novavax from $7.00 to $6.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their target price on Novavax from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $11.25.

Novavax Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NVAX opened at $9.75 on Friday. Novavax has a 1 year low of $5.01 and a 1 year high of $10.64. The firm has a market cap of $1.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.45 and a beta of 2.37. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $7.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $7.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.93, a quick ratio of 2.24 and a current ratio of 2.27.

Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.25) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.08) by ($0.17). The firm had revenue of $70.45 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.63 million. Novavax had a net margin of 32.10% and a negative return on equity of 217.02%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.76) EPS. Research analysts forecast that Novavax will post -1.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Novavax

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 worth $285,000 after buying an additional 21,663 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Novavax by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 104,562 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $678,000 after acquiring an additional 2,750 shares in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Novavax in 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% in 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 worth $2,005,000 after purchasing an additional 44,105 shares during the period. Finally, Strs Ohio purchased a new position in Novavax during the 1st quarter worth approximately $167,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 53.04% of the company’s stock.

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.