Novavax praised by analysts as candidate for Covid-19 vaccine shows strong effectiveness

Novavax (NVAX) – Get report Stocks soared on Friday, with analysts praising biotechnology after the company released promising results to its candidate Covid-19.

The shares of Gaithersburg, Maryland, were rising 65.67% to $ 222.02 on the last check.

Novavax said a Phase 3 trial of its candidate vaccine Covid-19, known as NVX-CoV2373, showed 89.3% effectiveness against the disease, including against the rapidly spreading variant in the UK. But it was found to be less effective against an emerging South African variant.

The study also found that being infected once with the virus did not appear to offer automatic protection from being infected again, according to Bloomberg.

Jefferies analyst Kelechi Chikere, who reiterated his buyout rating on the shares, said in an investor note that “effectiveness against South Africa’s so-called variant strain has reached 60%, which has significant implications for all vaccine companies and the potential / size of an endemic market. “

“With these results in hand, we believe that NVAX will be able to request authorization for emergency use (or its equivalent) in several territories,” added Chikere.

Novavax’s candidate vaccine, the analyst said, is shipped and stored in normal refrigeration, which is more convenient than other effective vaccines, such as the Moderna vaccine. (MRNA) – Get report and Pfizer (PFE) – Get report that need to be dispatched or stored in freezing conditions.

An analyst at Guggenheim said that “SARS-CoV-2 is here to stay”, looking at the variants and the discovery of previous infections.

JP Morgan analyst Eric Joseph raised his target price to $ 295 from $ 215 and said “overall, we believe the data is highly impressive and paves the way for NVX-CoV2373 as an acceptable and commercially competitive vaccine product . “

Regarding the problems with the South African variant, Joseph, who classifies the stock as overweight, said he did not believe that “the result gives a specific reason for a break with NVX-CoV2373.”

“Perhaps the most important conclusion of the SA trial, in our opinion, is the lack of protection provided by the previous COVID-19 infection, suggesting a wider and more durable vaccine market opportunity on the way to achieving and maintaining collective immunity,” said the analyst. said.

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