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Novavax NVAX reported first-quarter 2025 earnings of $2.93 per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 71 cents. In the year-ago quarter, the company reported a loss of $1.05 per share.
Quarterly revenues totaled $667 million compared with $94 million in the year-ago period. The reported figure beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $212 million. (Find the latest EPS estimates and surprises on Zacks Earnings Calendar)
Novavax recorded $622 million in product sales compared with $90 million in the year-ago period. The reported figure includes $608 million from sales of its sole marketed product, the COVID-19 vaccine Nuvaxovid, and $14 million from supply sales, which comprise finished product, adjuvant and other materials sold to licensed partners.
The significant upside in product sales was primarily driven by $603 million in revenues from the termination of two advanced purchase agreements (APAs) with the governments of Canada and New Zealand. The recognized revenues relate to cash received in the previous years.
Licensing, royalties and other revenues totaled $45 million compared with $4 million in the year-ago period. This uptick was mainly due to the $40 million recognized from partner Sanofi SNY as revenues associated with upfront payments and milestone amortization, as well as cost reimbursements.
In the reported quarter, research and development (R&D) expenses totaled $89 million, down 4% year over year. The downside was caused by a reduction in overall expenditures relating to COVID-19 vaccine development.
Selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses decreased 45% year over year to $48 million, primarily due to reduced COVID-19 vaccine commercialization activities and cost-reduction efforts.
As of Mar. 31, 2025, the company had $747 million in cash and cash equivalents compared with $938 million as of Dec. 31, 2024.
Starting this year, Sanofi acquired exclusive rights to market the company’s protein-based COVID-19 vaccine globally, except in certain territories where Novavax maintains existing partnership agreements. This arrangement is part of a recently signed multi-billion-dollar deal, wherein Sanofi assumed commercial responsibility for the vaccine.
Due to its reliance on Sanofi's sales forecasts for certain components, Novavax continues to withhold its full-year revenue guidance. However, the company has raised its adjusted revenue framework and now expects to generate between $975 million and $1.03 billion, implying a substantial increase from the prior projection of $300-$350 million. This revision primarily reflects revenues recognized from the termination of APAs with Canada and New Zealand.
The company reaffirmed its full-year projection for combined R&D and SG&A expenses in the range of $475-$525 million.
Shares of Novavax rose 12% yesterday, as investors welcomed the improved revenue outlook and the continued cost discipline. Year to date, the stock fell 17% compared with the industry’s 8% decline.
Alongside the earnings release, Novavax reiterated its expectation that the FDA will approve its regulatory filing seeking full approval for its COVID-19 vaccine. It is currently in discussions with the agency to align on the study parameters for the post-marketing commitment (PMC) requested by the FDA. NVAX believes that the filing is approvable once an agreement is reached on the PMC details. If this filing is approved, it will trigger a $175-million milestone payment from Sanofi.
The company expects the transfers of marketing authorization to Sanofi for the U.S. and European Union (EU) markets in the fourth quarter of 2025. The completion of these events will trigger an additional $50 million in combined milestone payments.
Last month, Novavax announced that it has significantly improved the terms of its partnership with Takeda Pharmaceuticals to support the ongoing commercialization of the COVID-19 vaccine in Japan. Per the revised terms, NVAX will receive a $20 million upfront payment and a payment tied to the 2024-2025 vaccination season. The company will also be eligible to receive annual milestone payments, as well as royalties on the net sales of the vaccine.
Last year, Novavax signed a deal with an unnamed ‘top tier pharmaceutical company’ to use its patented Matrix-M adjuvant with the latter’s pipeline candidates. In March, the company expanded this deal to include viral pathogens. NVAX also entered into a preclinical collaboration with a new partner to evaluate Matrix-M’s potential in a cancer vaccine candidate.
Last December, NVAX initiated a late-stage program evaluating the safety and immunogenicity of its stand-alone influenza and COVID-19-influenza combination vaccines in adults aged 65 years and older. Initial data from this study is expected in mid-2025. The company intends to explore partnership opportunities for both vaccines to advance all future clinical development and commercialization activities.
Novavax currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Novavax, Inc. price | Novavax, Inc. Quote
A couple of better-ranked stocks from the industry are Adaptive Biotechnologies ADPT and Beam Therapeutics BEAM, each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
In the past 60 days, estimates for Adaptive Biotechnologies’ 2025 loss per share have improved from 92 cents to 87 cents. During the same timeframe, estimates for 2026 loss per share have narrowed from 69 cents to 65 cents.
Adaptive Biotechnologies’ earnings beat estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, delivering an average surprise of 21.38%. Shares of ADPT have surged 55% year to date.
Estimates for Beam Therapeutics’ 2025 loss per share have narrowed from $4.45 to $4.30 over the past 60 days, and the same for 2026 loss per share has improved from $4.94 to $3.60.
Beam Therapeutics’ earnings beat estimates in two of the trailing four quarters and missed the same in the other two, delivering an average negative surprise of 3.14%. Year to date, BEAM’s shares have lost 31%.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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