Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) Cut to “Sell” at Wall Street Zen

Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report released on Saturday.

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

Novavax Stock Performance

Shares of NVAX stock opened at $8.85 on Friday. Novavax has a 12 month low of $5.01 and a 12 month high of $10.64. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $7.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $7.80. The firm has a market cap of $1.44 billion, a PE ratio of 4.94 and a beta of 2.37. The company has a quick ratio of 2.24, a current ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.93.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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