Drugmaker Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) saw its shares surge in Monday afternoon trading after announcing that CEO Stanley Erck will retire and be replaced by John Jacobs. Erck’s tenure with Novavax lasted 12 years. During which, he oversaw one of the company’s biggest projects to date: the COVID-19 vaccine.
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Though too late to get out in front of the market, Novavax ultimately managed to take some of it, landing approvals in Australia, South Korea, the EU, and the UK before ultimately getting its chance in the United States. However, Novavax ultimately proved useful with vaccine candidates for the flu and a combined vaccine for COVID-19 and the flu.
Meanwhile, Jacobs brings an extensive skill set to the position, as he boasts over 25 years of experience in several different therapeutic areas. Thus, he should prove a solid candidate to oversee a company with several new treatments in its development pipeline. Moreover, Erck won’t be leaving the company cold turkey; he’ll be sticking around for a while, serving in an “advisory capacity” to give Jacobs some room to get on his feet. Novavax’s gain is proving Harmony Biosciences’ (NASDAQ:HRMY) loss; Jacobs is departing it for Novavax, and sending Harmony shares plunging as a result.
The plans sound solid enough, and the market is certainly in favor. Analyst consensus calls Novavax a Moderate Buy. Additionally, with an average price target of $65 per share, Novavax stock has an impressive 418.34% upside potential as well.
