Piper Jaffray Companies Reaffirms Hold Rating for Novavax, Inc. (NVAX)

Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX)‘s stock had its “hold” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Piper Jaffray Companies in a report issued on Wednesday, July 26th. They presently have a $1.50 target price on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. Piper Jaffray Companies’ price objective suggests a potential upside of 45.63% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research firms have also commented on NVAX. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $2.00 target price on shares of Novavax in a report on Friday, July 21st. BidaskClub lowered shares of Novavax from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 19th. Zacks Investment Research lowered shares of Novavax from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 9th. Finally, ValuEngine lowered shares of Novavax from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, June 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $5.24.

Novavax (NASDAQ NVAX) traded down 0.97% during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $1.02. 1,504,870 shares of the company were exchanged. The stock’s market capitalization is $295.70 million. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $1.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $1.14. Novavax has a 12-month low of $0.73 and a 12-month high of $8.49.

Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.16) EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.16). Novavax had a negative net margin of 1,006.00% and a negative return on equity of 787.38%. The firm had revenue of $6.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.15 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.29) EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 168.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Novavax will post ($0.62) earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of NVAX. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Novavax by 49.8% in the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 89,697 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $103,000 after buying an additional 29,800 shares in the last quarter. Profund Advisors LLC increased its stake in Novavax by 0.4% in the second quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 120,775 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $139,000 after buying an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in Novavax during the first quarter valued at approximately $157,000. Voya Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Novavax by 18.6% in the second quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 138,270 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $159,000 after buying an additional 21,639 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in Novavax by 3.8% in the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 142,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $184,000 after buying an additional 5,250 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.49% of the company’s stock.

About Novavax

Novavax, Inc is a clinical-stage vaccine company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of recombinant nanoparticle vaccines and adjuvants. The Company operates through developing recombinant vaccines segment. The Company, through its recombinant nanoparticle vaccine technology, produces vaccine candidates to respond to both known and newly emerging diseases.