Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) Sees Large Volume Increase – Should You Buy?

Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Tuesday . 3,015,795 shares were traded 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NVAX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 price target on shares of Novavax in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Novavax from $31.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, B. Riley reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $26.00 price target (up from $23.00) on shares of Novavax in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Novavax currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $17.83.

Novavax Stock Up 12.4 %

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $8.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.28. The company has a market cap of $1.76 billion, a PE 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, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.83) by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $84.51 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $65.80 million. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 54.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($1.26) EPS. Equities analysts expect that Novavax, Inc. will post -1.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Novavax

In related news, Director James F. Young sold 4,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.48, for a total value of $39,008.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 57,160 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $484,716.80. This trade represents a 7.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Rachel K. King sold 4,150 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.02, for a total transaction of $37,433.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $133,225.40. The trade was a 21.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 14,150 shares of company stock worth $119,641. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Amalgamated Bank raised its stake in shares of Novavax by 26.9% during the second quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 4,887 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 1,036 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Novavax by 38.1% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 5,790 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $77,000 after buying an additional 1,598 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in shares of Novavax by 3,538.8% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 12,299 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $155,000 after acquiring an additional 11,961 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Novavax in the third quarter valued at approximately $158,000. Finally, Algert Global LLC acquired a new position in shares of Novavax during the second quarter valued at approximately $161,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.