B. Riley analyst Mayank Mamtani has long banged the drum for Novavax (NVAX). The latest developments surrounding the company have only reaffirmed his bullish outlook for the vaccine specialist.
In fact, “continued strength in execution on NVX-CoV2373 activities pertaining to clinical development, global regulatory filings, manufacturing scale-up, and commercial readiness,” are the reasons why the 5-star analyst raised his price target for Novavax to a Street high of $397. The analyst’s rating, unsurprisingly, stays a Buy. (To watch Mamtani’s track record, click here)
Fortunately, there has been a sharp drop recently in the number of global Covid-19 cases, but Mamtani says this will likely result in a pullback for coronavirus stocks. However, Mamtani believes there are two major catalysts supported by several tailwinds for Novavax.
One is Novavax’ upcoming earnings call (March 1) and the second is the “imminent FDA’s official guidance focused on vaccine development efforts against emerging variants.”
Regarding the latter, standing in Novavax’ stead is the fact that against the latest variants, its Covid-19 vaccine NVX-CoV2373, is the only candidate with “robust volume” of clinical data.
While the vaccine demonstrated “clinical efficacy” against the South African variant, the data was particularly impressive when dealing with the U.K. variant, displaying an 86% success rate against the mutant strain.
Mamtani counts several other areas where Novavax is making progress: “(1) Ph. III U.S. 30k-participant study nearing enrollment completion, in record time; (2) rolling review process for emergency use authorization of ‘2373 commenced by multiple regulatory agencies, FDA, MHRA, EMA and Health Canada; and (3) formalized advanced purchase agreements (APAs) continuing to be put in place, most recently with South Korea and Switzerland.”
All the above, Mamtani says, should help offset investors’ concerns about whether there’s room for another vaccine given the head start the already approved vaccines have, the improved vaccination rates and the “manufacturing ramp challenges” that lay ahead.
Rating wise, Mamtani’s colleagues are all on the same page. NVAX’s Strong Buy consensus rating is based on Buys only – 5, in total. However, most are more conservative when estimating where the share price is heading; The average price target clocks in at $287.40, and implies only modest upside of ~3% from current levels. (See NVAX stock analysis on TipRanks)
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Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analyst. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment.