Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) Shares Down 7.1% Following Insider Selling

Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX) shares traded down 7.1% on Wednesday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $12.83 and last traded at $13.01. 6,727,843 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 45% from the average session volume of 12,302,667 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.00.

Specifically, insider Filip Dubovsky sold 47,312 shares of Novavax stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.90, for a total transaction of $657,636.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 38,953 shares in the company, valued at $541,446.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Filip Dubovsky sold 47,312 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.90, for a total value of $657,636.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director James F. Young sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.09, for a total transaction of $105,675.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 61,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $870,198.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 62,312 shares of company stock valued at $866,212 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on NVAX shares. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Novavax from $12.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, June 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Novavax from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $19.00 price target on shares of Novavax in a research note on Monday, May 13th. B. Riley raised their price objective on shares of Novavax from $11.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Novavax from $5.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $19.00.

Novavax Stock Performance

The business has a 50 day moving average of $11.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $7.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.11 and a beta of 1.96.

Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) last issued its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $93.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $71.32 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($3.41) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Novavax, Inc. will post 0.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Novavax

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Farallon Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Novavax during the first quarter worth $5,406,000. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Novavax during the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Tidal Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novavax in the first quarter valued at about $172,000. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Novavax by 11.3% in the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 107,511 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $514,000 after purchasing an additional 10,949 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Novavax by 17.0% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 56,065 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $269,000 after purchasing an additional 8,128 shares during the period. 53.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.