Novavax Inc. (NASDAQ: NVAX) executives have sold millions of dollars’ worth of company stock in a pivotal year for the Gaithersburg biotech, which now heads deeper into late-stage clinical trials for its Covid-19 vaccine candidate — and sees enthusiasm around the program reflected in its share price.
In the past week and a half, four company leaders have sold 174,622 shares of common stock for a total value of about $18.89 million, according to Securities and Exchange Commission filings. All were part of their predetermined trading plans, which allow major shareholders and executives to sell prearranged share amounts at set times.
Here’s a breakdown of those transactions, all of which occurred as the Novavax stock price ranged from $107 to more than $117 per share. The four executives had also exercised some options to purchase shares at a lower price:
- Stanley Erck, president and CEO of Novavax, sold 41,340 shares of common stock worth $4.55 million between Sept. 28 and Oct. 1, according to SEC filings. That represents his total stock sales during 2020. Erck owned 381,114 shares of common stock as of April 29.
- John Trizzino — Novavax’s executive vice president, chief business officer and chief financial officer — sold 45,566 shares for a total of nearly $4.97 million between Sept. 26 and Sept. 30, per SEC filings. As of April 29, he owned 68,784 shares of Novavax common stock.
- Dr. Gregory Glenn, Novavax’s president of research and development, sold 44,944 shares of common stock between Sept. 28 and Sept. 30 for a total value of $4.89 million, according to SEC filings. He owned 110,294 shares of common stock as of April 29.
- John Herrmann, executive vice president and chief legal officer of Novavax, sold 42,772 shares for a value of $4.66 million between Sept. 26 and Sept. 28, per SEC filings. He owned 73,095 shares as of April 29, according to federal filings.
The sales follow a series of sales in August, in which a handful of Novavax executives and board members sold 172,979 total shares for a combined value of nearly $17 million. That roster included Glenn, Trizzino and Herrmann, as well as two board members: Gary Evans, CEO of Texas-based Energy Hunter Resources Inc., and Michael McManus, CEO of New York-based Misonix Inc.
Novavax’s stock closed up 6.3% at $110.17 per share on Monday. That share price has surged dramatically since the start of 2020, climbing from $4 apiece to a nearly $190 high in August that it hadn't seen in five years — largely driven by its work in advancing a coronavirus vaccine candidate. The company now holds a market cap of $6.72 billion.
The biotech recently initiated its first phase 3 clinical trial in the United Kingdom for its Covid-19 program, with sites in the U.S. to come soon, potentially this month depending on the results of its midstage study, Glenn told us last month. It joined with eight other biotechs to jointly pledge their commitment to develop vaccine candidates according to “high ethical standards and sound scientific principles” in the face of concerns about political interference or unwarranted speed in the scientific process.
Novavax also paused its seasonal flu vaccine program to focus on Covid. That program holds great promise for the company, Glenn told us recently, after an otherwise turbulent 2019 that included a failed late-stage clinical trial for a respiratory syncytial virus vaccine and a delisting threat from the Nasdaq.
