Novavax, Inc. (NVAX) Up Again And 90% In 2015: Is It Too Late To Board This Gravy Train?

How are hedge funds trading Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX)?

Heading into the second quarter, a total of 18 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish in this stock, a change of 20% from one quarter earlier. Among these funds, the aggregate value of their holdings decreased to about $72.32 million by the end of the first quarter of 2015 from $76.09 million at the end of the last quarter of 2014. This was a decrease of 4.96%, a significant decline considering the share price increased by 39.46% in the first quarter of the year.

Baker Bros. Advisors, managed by Julian Baker and Felix Baker, holds the largest position in Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX) in our database. Baker Bros. Advisors has a $16.1 million position in the stock, comprising 0.1% of its 13F portfolio. The second-most bullish hedge fund is RA Capital Management, managed by Peter Kolchinsky, which held an $11.8 million position: 1.2% of its 13F portfolio being allocated to the stock. Remaining hedgies that are bullish includes Bihua Chen’s Cormorant Asset Management, Robert B. Gillam’s McKinley Capital Management, and Kris Jenner, Gordon Bussard, and Graham McPhail’s Rock Springs Capital Management.

As one would reasonably expect, key hedge funds were breaking ground themselves. Laurion Capital Management, managed by Benjamin A. Smith, assembled the most outsized new position in Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX). Laurion Capital Management had $2.9 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Paul Tudor Jones’ Tudor Investment Corp also made a $2.1 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new Novavax investors: Steve Cohen’s Point72 Asset Management, Peter Muller’s PDT Partners, and Richard Driehaus’ Driehaus Capital.

As more hedge funds were long in the stock despite a decrease in the value of holdings and some significant insider purchases were made recently, that would indicate sentiment is strong on the stock. However in light of its rapid appreciation and the fact that hedge funds were already pulling out capital by the end of the first quarter, before the stock gained another 36%, it’s hard to justify entering the stock at the current inflated price point. We would recommend holding off until some of the air is let out of this push and considering a buy at a more reasonable entry point.

Disclosure: None