The company's oral Covid-19 vaccine could be just as effective as the competition
The shares of biotechnology concern Vaxart Inc (NASDAQ:VXRT) are up a whopping 11.5% to trade at $8.94 at last check , after the company announced its oral coronavirus vaccine produced positive phase 1 trial results. In addition, Vaxart announced its vaccine showed higher T-cell responses than that of Pfizer (PFE) and Moderna (MRNA), indicating it could be just as effective.
Just yesterday, the equity tumbled to the $7 level after a disappointing quarterly revenue report. The stock still has a ways to go before catching back up to a Feb. 2, six-year high of $24.90, but remain well above the 10-day moving average. Longer term, VXRT is up 241.1% year-over-year.
Analysts are bullish towards Vaxart stock, with all three in coverage carrying a "strong buy" rating. Plus, the equity's 12-month consensus price target of $13.33 is a 50.2% premium to current levels.
Meanwhile, short sellers are piling onto the security. Short interest is up 7.2% in the most recent reporting period, and the 25.61 million shares sold short make up a jaw-dropping 162.2% of the stock's available float. Should some of this negative attention begin to unwind, a short squeeze would drive shares even higher.
Drilling down to today's options activity, 21,000 calls have already crossed the tape, which is seven times the intraday average. Most popular is the weekly 5/7 9.50-strike call, followed by the 10-strike call in the same series, with positions being opened at the former. Buyers of these options expect more upside for VXRT by the end of the week, when contracts expire.