Novavax Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:NVAX)

Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX) saw some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Stock traders acquired 41,513 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 109% compared to the typical volume of 19,859 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on NVAX. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $19.00 price objective on shares of Novavax in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Novavax from $31.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, B. Riley reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $26.00 price objective (up from $23.00) on shares of Novavax in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $17.83.

Novavax Stock Performance

Shares of NVAX stock traded up $1.21 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $10.97. 10,103,866 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,248,453. Novavax has a 12-month low of $3.53 and a 12-month high of $23.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.85 and a beta of 2.07. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $8.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $11.28.

Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.76) 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 analyst estimates of $65.80 million. The company’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. On average, research analysts expect that Novavax will post -1.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Novavax

In other Novavax news, Director Rachel K. King sold 4,150 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.02, for a total value of $37,433.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 14,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $133,225.40. This trade represents a 21.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director James F. Young sold 5,400 shares of Novavax stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.00, for a total value of $43,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 51,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $414,080. This trade represents a 9.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,150 shares of company stock valued at $119,641 in the last three months. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Amalgamated Bank increased its position in Novavax by 26.9% in the 2nd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 4,887 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 1,036 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc increased its holdings in shares of Novavax by 3.0% in the second quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 44,900 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $568,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Novavax by 38.1% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 5,790 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 1,598 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Novavax by 12.0% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 19,292 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $244,000 after purchasing an additional 2,072 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning lifted its holdings in shares of Novavax by 12.5% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 24,143 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $306,000 after purchasing an additional 2,692 shares during the period. 53.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.