Sell-siders bullish on Novavax COVID-19 study

Sell-side cheerleaders are out in force this morning on the heels of the launch of a pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial in the U.K. evaluating Novavax's (NASDAQ:NVAX) COVID-19 vaccine candidate, NVX-CoV2373, in 10K adult volunteers. The study will assess the safety and immunogenicity of the vaccine administered via two shots 21 days apart. At least 25% of the study population will be over the age of 65.

The two primary endpoints will be the occurrence of confirmed symptomatic COVID-19 within at least seven days after the second inoculation and first-occurrence of confirmed symptomatic moderate-to-severe COVID-19 within at least seven days after the second shot. An interim analysis will be performed when 67% of the expected number of cases has been reached.

Cantor Fitzgerald (Overweight/$211): Enrollment of over-65 population is "key" (other vaccine developers are also targeting elderly people since age is the most significant risk factor).

B. Riley FBR (Buy/$257): Combination of studies could result in a pooled analysis of more than 10K subjects which, in tandem with the U.S. study, could enable NVAX to catch up to competitors.

H.C. Wainwright (Buy/$290): Expects NVX-CoV2373 to compete despite lagging peers by one-to-two months.

https://seekingalpha.com/news/3617309-sell-siders-gush-over-novavax-covidminus-19-study