Has Novavax Just Solved Its Biggest Problem?

Many investors have seen (NASDAQ: NVAX) as a promising recovery story ever since the biotech launched a plan to cut costs to better match the revenue opportunities ahead of it. Once one of the biggest coronavirus vaccine hopefuls, Novavax's shares soared by more than 2,700% in 2020 -- then plummeted as the development and commercialization of the company's COVID vaccine candidate lagged behind its rivals.

The late arrival of Novavax's vaccine on the market meant the company missed out on the early multibillion-dollar waves of vaccine sales, which cost it a great deal of market share. Still, the company's peak vaccine sales did pass the billion-dollar mark, and Novavax also is developing a combined coronavirus/flu candidate that could become popular. And the company's cost-cutting plan has been bearing fruit too.

One major obstacle remained in Novavax's path though: a dispute with Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. That public-private international health partnership, which supports global vaccine access, had asked Novavax for a refund of nearly $700 million -- and an order to immediately refund that amount could have spelled disaster for the already fragile company. Last week, though, Novavax and Gavi settled their dispute, and Novavax's shares soared by 32% over two trading sessions.

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Source Fool.com