Novavax (NVAX) posted an unexpected third-quarter loss late Tuesday, but NVAX stock jumped after hours on better-than-expected sales.
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In the September quarter, Novavax lost $2.15 per share, down from a loss of $4.31 per share earlier in the year. But analysts had predicted a gain per share of $1.57. Still, the stock rallied on the back of Novavax sales, which more than quadrupled year-over-year to $735 million. That beat the $586 million prediction with ease.
However, the sales tempo didn’t extend to Novavax’s full-year guidance. The company expects sales to be on the low end of its $2 billion to $2.3 billion outlook.
Getting there depends on demand for a Covid vaccine. Novavax is coming from behind. Today, the Covid shot is available to children under 12 in the US. To date, less than 44,000 people have received it.
An increase in demand can cause Shares NVAX. In after-hours trading, shares rose 5.6% to nearly 20.80.
NVAX Stock: Opponent Gets Boosters
In addition to receiving authorization for its initial Covid vaccine, Novavax’s booster also received the FDA’s blessing in October. But the booster shot is only available to people who haven’t received a booster. different from Pfizer (PFE), Moderna (mRNA) or Johnson & Johnson (JNJ).
This is where it’s important to note, Pfizer and Moderna have launched updated Covid boosters targeting BA.4 and BA.5 sub-variants of omicron. In the US, the latter is still narrowly dominant, leading the newer strains BQ.1 and BQ.1.1.
Novavax’s booster is the third dose of the original vaccine, which targets the ancestral strain of the virus. This is a bearish spot for NVAX stock. In this month’s IBD/TIPP poll, less than a third of respondents said they would look for a Novavax booster. Another 42% say they won’t, while 19% don’t qualify.
The company is also working on a prototype boost test that induces immune responses against the parent strain, as well as sub-variants BA.1 and BA.5. However, strain BA.1 is no longer circulating in the US.
Investors in NVAX stock will likely be looking for comment on the company’s boosting efforts when Novavax reports third-quarter earnings late Tuesday.
Follow Allison Gatlin on Twitter at @IBD_AGatlin.
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