Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $14.68, but opened at $14.07. Novavax shares last traded at $14.40, with a volume of 1,125,211 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on NVAX shares. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $31.00 price target on shares of Novavax in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Novavax from $12.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, June 14th. B. Riley restated a “buy” rating and set a $23.00 price target (down from $25.00) on shares of Novavax in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Novavax from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $18.33.

Novavax Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.91 billion, a PE ratio of -4.29 and a beta of 2.04. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $12.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $11.20.

Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.82 by ($0.83). The firm had revenue of $415.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $458.57 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.58 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Novavax, Inc. will post -1.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Novavax

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Novavax by 940.7% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,154,276 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $14,579,000 after purchasing an additional 1,043,363 shares during the period. Creative Planning raised its position in shares of Novavax by 12.5% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 24,143 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $306,000 after purchasing an additional 2,692 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novavax in the second quarter valued at approximately $161,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Novavax by 9.5% in the second quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC now owns 343,414 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,348,000 after purchasing an additional 29,834 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in Novavax by 53.2% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 59,656 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $755,000 after acquiring an additional 20,709 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 53.04% of the company’s stock.

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.