Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) Stock Price Down 5.7% – Should You Sell?

Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX)’s stock price traded down 5.7% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $8.90 and last traded at $8.98. 2,142,419 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 56% from the average session volume of 4,885,543 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.52.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $19.00 price objective on shares of Novavax in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Novavax from $31.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, B. Riley restated a “buy” rating and set a $26.00 price target (up previously from $23.00) on shares of Novavax in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. One equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Novavax currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $17.83.

Novavax Stock Down 3.6 %

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $8.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $10.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.39 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.85 and a beta of 2.07.

Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) last issued its 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $65.80 million. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 54.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($1.26) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Novavax, Inc. will post -1.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director James F. Young sold 4,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.48, for a total value of $39,008.00. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Rachel K. King sold 4,150 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.02, for a total value of $37,433.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,150 shares of company stock valued at $119,641 over the last quarter. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Novavax

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in 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 worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 1,598 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Novavax by 12.0% in 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 in the last quarter. Creative Planning raised its holdings in Novavax by 12.5% in 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 in the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Novavax by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 33,965 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $273,000 after purchasing an additional 3,174 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Spire Wealth Management bought a new position in Novavax in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. 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.