Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) Shares Up 6.7% – Time to Buy?

Shares of Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX) were up 6.7% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $8.36 and last traded at $8.40. Approximately 919,344 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 8,061,799 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.87.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on NVAX shares. BTIG Research started coverage on shares of Novavax in a research note on Friday, February 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $19.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Novavax to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $19.00 price target on shares of Novavax in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $18.00.

Novavax Price Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average is $8.46 and its 200-day moving average is $9.79. The company has a market capitalization of $1.34 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 2.92.

Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.51) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.75) by $0.24. The business had revenue of $88.31 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $85.48 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($1.44) earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Novavax, Inc. will post -1.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Novavax

In other Novavax news, Director James F. Young sold 5,400 shares of Novavax stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.00, for a total transaction of $43,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 51,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $414,080. The trade was a 9.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Rachel K. King sold 4,150 shares of Novavax stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at $133,225.40. This represents a 21.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,150 shares of company stock valued at $119,641 over the last 90 days. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Novavax

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new position in Novavax during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Novavax in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novavax in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Novavax by 97.0% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,954 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 3,917 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TigerOak Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of Novavax in the fourth quarter worth $86,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 53.04% of the company’s stock.

Novavax Company Profile

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.