Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) Shares Pass Above 200-Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $8.28 and traded as high as $8.42. Novavax shares last traded at $8.09, with a volume of 4,148,236 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Novavax Trading Down 4.3%

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 2.54. The company has a current ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.93. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $9.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $8.28.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Novavax

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Novavax in the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC bought a new position in Novavax in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in Novavax during the third quarter valued at $64,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted 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 purchasing an additional 1,617 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming bought a new stake in Novavax during the second quarter valued at about $52,000. Institutional investors own 53.04% of the company’s stock.

Novavax Company 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.