Why Novavax Stock is flying again today

What happened

Actions of Novavax (NASDAQ: NVAX) were soaring 19.1% as of 12:08 p.m. EST Monday. The big gain came after the title skyrocketed on Friday after the announcement of positive late-stage results for the COVID-19 vaccine candidate NVX-CoV2373.

Today’s jump appears to be due in part to the continued momentum of the past week. B. Riley Securities analyst Mayank Mamtani also raised his price target on Novavax from $ 223 to $ 334, reflecting a 51% premium to the stock’s closing price on Friday.

So what

It is impossible to determine how much of today’s gain for Novavax comes from Mamtani’s bullish outlook on biotech stock. However, the underlying reasons for his optimism appear to be relevant.

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Mamtani wrote to investors that Novavax is expected to have “significant competitive differentiation” in the COVID-19 vaccine market. The high efficacy of NVX-CoV2373 and its logistical advantages (including the absence of ultra-cold storage requirements) should help make it a big commercial winner, provided the vaccine obtains regulatory clearances.

The analyst also pointed out that Novavax has another vaccine candidate that has a lot of potential. The company reported positive late-stage results for the investigational influenza vaccine NanoFlu last year. Mamtani expects biotechnology to gain significant market share in the rapidly growing COVID-19 and influenza vaccine markets.

Now what

There are now two key steps to watch out for with Novavax. First, the company should be in a good position to obtain authorization for NVX-CoV2373 in the UK soon. Second, Novavax is conducting another late stage vaccine study in the United States and Mexico. The results of this study should be available in the coming months.