Novavax Whiffs on Earnings Results

By Chris Lange Updated Jan 13, 12:34PM EST · Published Feb 29, 11:15AM EST

Novavax Whiffs on Earnings Results — © Thinkstock

Novavax Inc. (NASDAQ: NVAX) reported its fourth-quarter financial results before the markets opened on Monday. The company said it had a net loss of $0.29 per share on $5.9 million in revenue, which compares to consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters of a net loss of $0.14 per share on revenue of $8.07 million. In the same period of the previous year, it posted a net loss of $0.13 per share and $6.72 million in revenue.

In the fourth quarter, the company completed enrollment of 1,330 older adults in a Phase 2 rollover clinical trial of its RSV F Vaccine in older adults enrolled in the prior Phase 2 trial. The trial is a randomized, observer-blinded, placebo-controlled rollover trial designed to enroll from the population of 1,600 older adults who participated in the prior Phase 2 trial.

Novavax initiated the enrollment in a global pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial, known as Prepare, of its RSV F Vaccine in healthy pregnant women. Prepare is a randomized, observer-blinded, placebo-controlled trial that utilizes a group sequential design, thus, the eventual sample size may vary between 5,000 and 8,255 pregnant women over a period of two to four years.
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Stanley C. Erck, president and CEO of Novavax, commented on earnings:

During the fourth quarter, we initiated two pivotal Phase 3 trials of our RSV F Vaccine, and subsequently completed enrollment of our Resolve trial in older adults. We expect to announce value-creating data from the Resolve trial and the Phase 2 rollover trial in older adults in 2016. In addition, we recently strengthened our balance sheet through the successful completion of a convertible note offering, providing the necessary resources for the continued execution of our business plan.

On the books, the company had $230.7 million in cash, equivalents and marketable securities at the end of the fourth quarter, compared to $168.1 million in the same period from last year.

Shares of Novavax were down 8.6% at $4.31 Monday morning, with a consensus analyst price target of $16.35 and a 52-week trading range of $4.08 to $15.01.

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About the Author Chris Lange →

Chris Lange is a writer for 24/7 Wall St., based in Houston. He has covered financial markets over the past decade with an emphasis on healthcare, tech, and IPOs. During this time, he has published thousands of articles with insightful analysis across these complex fields. Currently, Lange's focus is on military and geopolitical topics.

Lange's work has been quoted or mentioned in Forbes, The New York Times, Business Insider, USA Today, MSN, Yahoo, The Verge, Vice, The Intelligencer, Quartz, Nasdaq, The Motley Fool, Fox Business, International Business Times, The Street, Seeking Alpha, Barron’s, Benzinga, and many other major publications.

A graduate of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, Lange majored in business with a particular focus on investments. He has previous experience in the banking industry and startups.