Israel will buy 5 million Covid-19 vaccine doses from the biotechnology name
Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX) was last seen up 1.6% at $74.25, after Israel inked a deal with the biotechnology concern to buy 5 million of its Covid-19 vaccine doses. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed, though Israel will also have the option to buy an additional 5 million doses, with the vaccine expected to arrive in the coming months.
The equity had been testing a floor at the $70 level over the past few days, after hitting an annual low of $66.38 earlier this week. While shares rallied to the $236 area in late December, the equity has since struggled with overhead pressure at the 10-day moving average for the entirety of January. In the last nine months, Novavax stock has shed 69.8%.
Analysts are overwhelmingly bullish towards NVAX, with five of the seven in coverage calling it a "strong buy," while only two carry a tepid "hold" rating. Echoing this, the 12-month consensus target price of $250 is a 249.5% premium to the stock's current perch.
Meanwhile, shorts are firmly in control. Short interest rose 14.7% in the two most recent reporting periods, and the 9.60 million shares sold short make up a significant 12.8% of the stock's available float.
The options pits also lean bearish. This is per NVAX's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 0.96, which sits in the 99th percentile of its annual range. In other words, short-term options traders are targeting Novavax puts with unprecedented enthusiasm.