Novavax (NVAX) closed the most recent trading day at $6.39, moving -0.31% from the previous trading session. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.17%. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a drop of 0.39%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw a decrease of 0.05%.

Shares of the vaccine maker witnessed a loss of 23.51% over the previous month, trailing the performance of the Medical sector with its loss of 6.9% and the S&P 500's loss of 3.94%.

The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of Novavax in its forthcoming earnings report. The company's earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be $0.19, reflecting a 118.1% increase from the same quarter last year. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $72.27 million, down 23.01% from the year-ago period.

Looking at the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $0.75 per share and revenue of $536.58 million. These totals would mark changes of +160.98% and -21.34%, respectively, from last year.

It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for Novavax. Such recent modifications usually signify the changing landscape of near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.

Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 580% higher. Right now, Novavax possesses a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

In the context of valuation, Novavax is at present trading with a Forward P/E ratio of 8.5. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 16.25, so one might conclude that Novavax is trading at a discount comparatively.

It is also worth noting that NVAX currently has a PEG ratio of 0.16. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. As of the close of trade yesterday, the Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry held an average PEG ratio of 1.28.

The Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry is part of the Medical sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 75, putting it in the top 31% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank is ordered from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Remember to apply Zacks.com to follow these and more stock-moving metrics during the upcoming trading sessions.

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Novavax, Inc. (NVAX) : Free Stock Analysis Report

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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