Over the course of the past weeks, Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX) has gathered a lot of attention, and the data from Google Trends confirms that as well. In addition to that, the trading volumes in the stock have also skyrocketed considerably. In the past 12 months alone, the trading volumes have soared by as much as 1000%, and on the other hand, the number of Google searches about Novavax has also gone through the roof.
Major Factors in Focus
Hence it is important for investors to take a look at the possible reasons behind this spike. One of the biggest developments for Novavax is that the company has emerged as one of the leaders with regards to the development of a coronavirus vaccine.
The demand for a COVID 19 vaccine is overwhelming, and Novavax was one of the first companies to announce that it was developing multiple candidates for the purpose. That announcement came in February, and soon after, the company got a $4 million investment from Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI).
In April, the company revealed that it finalized NVX-CoV2373 as its candidate, and due to the promise of the vaccine, CEPI pumped in an additional investment of $384 million. In late May, NVX-CoV2373 was advanced into a clinical trial and became only the third COVID 19, vaccine candidate, to have had the distinction.
While the developments with regards to its COVID 19 vaccine candidate are encouraging, it is also necessary to keep in mind that Novavax has another ace up its sleeve in the form of NanoFlu. It is a flu vaccine, and in its Phase 3 study, it performed better than Sanofi’s FluZone, which is a market leader.
The company is going to apply for approval by using the accelerated approval path offered by the United States Food and Drug Administration. If it does get approved then, NanoFlu will be fighting it out for a market that is valued between $550 million and $1.7 billion. At this point, the company has a market cap of only $3 billion, and if its COVID 19 vaccine does get approved, then the current valuation will look like a bargain.
