Novavax missed profit expectations, but reported a revenue win
Novavax Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX) stock is up 4.2% to trade at $20.48 this morning. While the drugmaker missed third-quarter profit estimates after posting losses of $2.15 per share, revenue of $735 million easily bested Wall Street's forecasts. The company cited Covid-19 vaccine demand as the catalyst, which is interesting because waning demand also led Novavax to trim its full-year revenue forecast.
That all may seem confusing, but Cowen noted Novavax is "well positioned to capture meaningful share of future commercial endemic market starting from 2023." Analysts are taking their time to respond, though Jefferies was quick to cut its price target to $90 from $100. The stock's 12-month consensus target price of $79.67 is a massive 303.4% premium to last night's close, which could signal further adjustments are on the way, despite the encouraging report.
On the charts, Novavax stock remains under its 50-day moving average, a trendline that halted a breakout earlier this month. Despite a 13% gain this quarter, NVAX remains down 86% in 2022.
Options traders are planted firmly in the bearish camp. This is per NVAX's 10-day put/call volume ratio of 1.69 at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), which sits higher than 100% of readings from the past year. Simply put, bearish bets are being picked up at their fastest clip over the last year.