NVAX stock falls on ‘great uncertainty’ as Covid shots fade | Business Investor Daily

novafax (NVAX) reported lower-than-expected fourth-quarter sales of its Covid vaccine late Tuesday and a collapse in NVAX stock.

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During the December quarter, Novavax sales grew 61% to $357 million. But that beat expectations at $383 million, according to FactSet. The company noted sales growth for its Covid vaccine, Nuvaxovid, was offset by lower revenue from grants, royalties and other sources. Nuvaxovid is licensed in the United States for persons 12 years of age and older as a basic series. It is also used as a booster in adults.

The company also reported a larger-than-expected loss of $2.28 per share. That narrowed down from a loss of $11.18 per share in the year-ago period, but didn’t miss estimates of a loss of $1.10 per share.

The findings come as US Covid vaccinations slow. Pfizer‘s (PFE) And Moderna‘s (mRNA) Covid shots made small gains in sales in 2022, although sales are expected to decline this year. But it’s important to note that Novavax uses a different method to vaccinate patients. While the Pfizer and Moderna shots are based on messenger RNA platforms, the Novavax shot is protein-based.

In today’s stock market, NVAX stock jumped 6.8% to end the regular session at 9.26. In after-hours trading, shares were down 19.9%, near 7.40.

NVAX stock: Lookahead is ambiguous

Novavax warned that while it plans to fund development of an updated Covid shot, there is “significant uncertainty” regarding its 2023 revenue, funding from the US government and pending arbitration.

“To maximize our opportunities and mitigate significant risks and uncertainties in the COVID-19 market, our goal is to reduce spending, expand our cash runway and work efficiently to best position the company for long-term growth,” the company said in its news release.

Novavax believes it has enough capital to fund operations for at least a year, but cautioned that “there is significant doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern within one year.”

Analysts expect sales to decline

NVAX stock analysts expect a loss of $4.99 per share and sales of $1.26 billion.

This is in line with expectations from Pfizer and Moderna. Both companies expect sales of their Covid shots to decline in 2023. Vaccinations are slowing and the public health emergency in the US is now set to end in May.

Meanwhile, NVAX stock has the worst possible relative strength rating at 1. That puts the stock in the bottom 1% of all stocks when it comes to 12-month performance, according to IBD Digital.

Follow Allison Gatlin on Twitter at @employee.

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