China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. Acquires 3,174 Shares of Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX)

China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX) by 10.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 33,965 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,174 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Novavax were worth $273,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake 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 during the period. KBC Group NV grew 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 purchasing an additional 3,917 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in Novavax by 3,538.8% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 12,299 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $155,000 after buying an additional 11,961 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in Novavax during the 3rd quarter valued at about $158,000. Finally, Algert Global LLC purchased a new stake in Novavax in the 2nd quarter valued at about $161,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 53.04% of the company’s stock.

Novavax Stock Down 3.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:NVAX opened at $8.69 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $8.83 and a 200 day moving average of $10.71. The company has a market capitalization of $1.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.85 and a beta of 2.07. Novavax, Inc. has a 52 week low of $3.53 and a 52 week high of $23.86.

Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.76) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.83) by $0.07. The company had revenue of $84.51 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $65.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($1.26) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 54.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Novavax, Inc. will post -1.31 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NVAX has been the topic of a number of research reports. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 target price on shares of Novavax in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Novavax from $31.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, B. Riley reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $26.00 target price (up from $23.00) on shares of Novavax in a report on Thursday, October 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Novavax currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $17.83.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Rachel K. King sold 4,150 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 14,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $133,225.40. This represents a 21.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director James F. Young sold 5,400 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 14,150 shares of company stock worth $119,641. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Novavax 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.