NVAX Stock Price: Novavax Inc.surging 34% after $1.6 billion COVID-19 vaccine candidate grant

NASDAQ: NVAX is trading at new record highs following a dramatic announcement.
The US government has awarded Novavax $1.6 billion toward trialing and producing a coronavirus vaccine.
Novavax may leapfrog its competition in the race against COVID-19.

Yohay Elam FXStreet

Novavax Inc. (NASDAQ: NVAX) is trading at $107 in pre-market trading on Tuesday, up some 34% and above the 52-week high of $89.50. The Gaithersburg, Maryland-based firm that also operates in Sweden focuses on producing immunizations and has seen its stocks up some nearly 20 times from the 52-week low of $3.54 – before the most recent surge.

NVAX news

Novavax has been awarded a whopping $1.6 billion sum from the US federal government to develop and manufacture a COVID-19 vaccine candidate. The race to curb coronavirus continues at full force with Moderna, Oxford University, and other companies racing to find a cure.

The government investment is part of Washington's "Operation Warp Speed" project, intended to accelerate and discovering and distribution of a vaccine that would put COVID-19 to rest.

The funds will serve to fund the candidate coded NVX-CoV2373 including the Phase 3 trial and potentially to distribute them by late 2020 – an ambitious target. Nevertheless, the boost from the government may allow NASDAQ: NVAX to bypass the fierce competition.

Phase 1/2 consists of 130 healthy participants and was launched in Australia in May. Results are due out by late July. The third phase is larger, with 30,000 subjects.

Broader markets are set to open lower on Tuesday after surging on Monday. Cooling down in Asian markets and concerns ahead of new COVID-19 statistics from Florida, Texas, and other states are weighing on sentiment.

The US is recording around 50,000 cases per day, with the positive test rate and hospitalizations also on the rise. On the other hand, the death rate has been decline.

More Novavax ($NVAX) riding the waves

Author

Yohay Elam

FXStreet

Yohay is in Forex since 2008 when he founded Forex Crunch, a blog crafted in his free time that turned into a fully-fledged currency website later sold to Finixio.

GBP/USD ranges below 1.3450 amid US-Iran uncertainty, ahead of US data

GBP/USD keeps its range below 1.3450 in the European session on Tuesday. Uncertainty surrounding US-Iran talks drives traders toward a safe-haven currency such as the US Dollar, while undermining the risk-sensitive British Pound. All eyes remain on the US JOLTS data and Mideast headlines.

EUR/USD flatlines above 1.1500, awaits US jobs data

EUR/USD holds steady around 1.1505 in European trading hours on Tuesday. Markets remain cautious ahead of a slew of US jobs data, starting with the JOLTS Job Openings Survey later today. However, the downside appears capped by hot Eurozone inflation in July, bolstering the case for a European Central Bank rate hike at the next meeting.

Gold consolidates above $4,050 amid Fed hike bets and Iran uncertainty

Gold seesaws between tepid gains and minor losses during the Asian session as traders seem hesitant and opt to wait for further developments surrounding the Middle East crisis. The US Dollar struggles to build on the previous day's solid bounce from the lowest level since Mid-June and acts as a tailwind for the bullion. However, the uncertainty over US-Iran peace talks helps limit the downside for the buck.

Ripple and Stellar steady as derivatives data points to easing downside pressure

Ripple and Stellar show mixed price action, with XRP holding above the key $1 support zone while XLM faces rejection at $0.173. Meanwhile, improving derivatives metrics alongside fading bearish momentum suggest that the downside pressure may be easing for both altcoins. Derivatives data shows mild bullish sentiment among traders.

US JOLTs report in focus

In the US, the June JOLTs report will be in the spotlight. Job openings have increased modestly this year, which has historically predicted rising wage cost pressures ahead. June trade balance data will also be released in the afternoon and the preliminary reading pointed towards a stable trade deficit from May. The Fed's Schmid (non-voter, hawk) will be on the wires overnight.

9-3: Is the Federal Reserve’s vote tally Warsh's new forward guidance?

The rate did not move. Neither did the statement, and that’s the more interesting fact. Set the July 29 Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) statement beside the one issued on June 17, and the two documents are identical apart from a single verb and a paragraph at the bottom naming three dissenters.