Novavax Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:NVAX)

Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders bought 37,307 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 70% compared to the average daily volume of 21,990 call options.

Novavax Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NVAX opened at $15.70 on Thursday. Novavax has a 1 year low of $3.53 and a 1 year high of $17.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.95 and a beta of 1.63. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $5.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $5.33.

Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 10th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.05) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.04) by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $93.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $71.32 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($3.41) EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Novavax will post -0.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Novavax

In other Novavax news, insider Filip Dubovsky sold 47,312 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.90, for a total transaction of $657,636.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 38,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $541,446.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Novavax

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Novavax by 14.6% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 17,307 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $125,000 after buying an additional 2,201 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. boosted its holdings in Novavax by 23.7% in the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 12,753 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 2,447 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in Novavax by 31.6% in the first quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 11,298 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 2,711 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Novavax by 11.1% in the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 40,533 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $293,000 after purchasing an additional 4,045 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB acquired a new position in Novavax in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. 53.04% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on NVAX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Novavax from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Novavax from $5.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. Bank of America raised shares of Novavax from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $4.00 to $12.00 in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 price objective on shares of Novavax in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $14.00.

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.