Novavax Rises 20%+ as Jefferies Says the Biotech's COVID-19 Vaccine Season Is Looking Good

NVAX gained as much as 22.9% to a $15.14 intraday high after Jefferies wrote that the company's "is off to a good start" for the COVID 2024-25 vaccine season.

"NVAX is ramping up [COVID-19] vax U.S. sales, on track to meet revenue guidance for '24/'25 season," Jefferies wrote.

Novavax became a market darling in 2021 when it developed one of the first COVID-19 vaccines. The company had previously been researching vaccines for flu, RSV, Ebola and other diseases.

Shares shot up more than 9,000% during the COVID-19 pandemic, rising from as low as $3.54 in November 2019 before the disease hit worldwide to as high as $331.68 in February 2021.

However, shares have since come back downward as interest in COVID vaccines waned. Even with Wednesday's rally, NVAX has lost some 95% since its 2021 peak.