The biotech sector has received a lot of attention and hype lately because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The outbreak has highlighted the importance of science in advancing the course of humanity. Investors have been taking notice and are making investment choices. There has been a lot of activity in the biotech sector, most especially as […]

U.S. coronavirus cases surpassed 6.67 million with over 197 thousand deaths with Texas seeing a massive surge as a new study says three quarters of Americans worry the approval process for a vaccine will be too hasty. Dr. Amesh A. Adalja, Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, joins The Final Round to discuss the latest developments in coronavirus and the vaccine race.

The winners of the race for a novel coronavirus vaccine are going to make big money. I believe Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) will be one of those winners. That alone makes NVAX stock a buy.Source: Ascannio/Shutterstock.com But the good news at the moment is that investors can pay an even lower price to get in on the story. NVAX stock has retreated some 42% from early August highs.Skeptics might retort that the stock is still up over 2,600% year-to-date (yes, 2,600%, and no, that's not a typo) — and thus remains too expensive. But that's looking at it the wrong way.InvestorPlace – Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading TipsAfter all, on Jan. 1, no investor could have predicted the pandemic, or the dire need for a vaccine. Novavax, due solely to that opportunity, is a very different company than it was eight and a half months ago.Meanwhile, Novavax is taking advantage of that opportunity — and making real progress toward a vaccine. Importantly, it's doing so at a rapid pace. As a result, I believe the vaccine will be approved — and that will make NVAX stock fly. Right on TrackIn less than seven months, Novavax has made impressive progress.After all, at the beginning of the year, Novavax was looking to develop vaccines — but not yet for the novel coronavirus. The company was focused on its flu vaccine, which hit Phase 3 endpoints in March. The same month, the company announced a partnership to work on a malaria vaccine. * 10 Education Stocks to Buy for the Fall School Season But it wasn't until late February that Novavax disclosed its first step toward a coronavirus vaccine. It began assessing candidates in animal models. From there, it's been milestone after milestone.Phase 1 data in early August impressed, sending NVAX stock higher. Data published this month showed that the vaccine was both well-tolerated (with minimal side effects) and showed early efficacy. The candidate now has moved into Phase 2 trials.Meanwhile, Novavax has raised plenty of capital. Primarily from Operation Warp Speed, the company has secured some $2 billion in funding. That's obviously more than enough to get the vaccine to approval.That's not all. Novavax has added key executives. It has set up partnerships in Asia. It has signed agreements with the governments of Canada and the United Kingdom.And once the drug is approved, Novavax should have no problem producing it. An agreement with a manufacturer in India provides annual production capacity of over 2 billion doses. The Risk/Reward in NVAX StockTo be clear, Novavax still needs to get the vaccine over the finish line. That's not guaranteed. Nothing in drug development is.But what's also clear is this: Novavax has done everything it could, and everything it needed to, to create the best odds of success. After all, in the race for a coronavirus vaccine, simple approval isn't enough.After all, there are literally dozens of companies targeting a coronavirus vaccine. The list includes some of the world's largest drugmakers.And so being first — or second — matters. The initial vaccines approved likely will become the standard of care. They will have significant pricing power in the early going. There will be huge profits to be made.Novavax seems to have a good chance at being one of the first companies with an approved vaccine. That's big. Of course, it would be even bigger if it ends up being the first.Again, this is a high-risk play: a “good chance” is not the same as a guarantee. Yes, there's some value in NanoFlu, the flu vaccine. Even so, if Novavax stumbles in its coronavirus efforts, NVAX stock has a long way down. Investors need to keep that in mind. Cheap EnoughStill, on a risk/reward basis, I believe NVAX stock looks attractive, particularly with the recent pullback.After all, even after the massive year-to-date rally, Novavax still has a market capitalization of less than $7 billion. Analysts expect the company to earn more than $1 billion in profit in 2021 alone.It's possible that the Novavax vaccine, if approved, will bring in those profits for another company. Success on the coronavirus front would read across well to the rest of the pipeline. One of the diversified major pharmaceutical players could see that as a reason to acquire Novavax. That aside, the larger firm could bolster Novavax's approved coronavirus vaccine with its existing worldwide sales and marketing infrastructure.That's all speculation. But the broad case here is relatively simple: if Novavax gets a vaccine approved, NVAX stock is going to be a winner. At this price, and given the progress so far, I think the rewards of betting on Novavax outweigh the risks.On the date of publication, neither Matt McCall nor the InvestorPlace Research Staff member primarily responsible for this article held (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in the article. More From InvestorPlace * Why Everyone Is Investing in 5G All WRONG * America's 1 Stock Picker Reveals His Next 1,000% Winner * Revolutionary Tech Behind 5G Rollout Is Being Pioneered By This 1 Company * Radical New Battery Could Dismantle Oil Markets The post Novavax Stock Is a Solid Bet on Vaccine Hopes appeared first on InvestorPlace.

Dr. Dara Kass, Yahoo Medical Contributor and Columbia University Associate Professor, joins Yahoo Finance's Akiko Fujita to break down the latest coronavirus developments as the race for a vaccine continues.

From a broader perspective, Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) is unquestionably one of this year's biggest success stories. Just prior to 2020, NVAX stock was trading in the low single digits. Even during the depths of the Great Recession, Novavax shares managed to keep its price tag relatively respectable. Indeed, before the novel coronavirus pandemic disrupted the world, the company was on the verge of collapse.Source: Ascannio/Shutterstock.com While I'd never classify a virus outbreak as a good thing, for NVAX stock, it kept the lights on. Still, the second half of this year has been a volatile one. Yes, shares were on the cusp of closing at the $200 level in August. But as the harsh realities of the vaccine race spooked investors, many decided to pocket their enormous profits. Who could blame them?Of course, the ensuing selling pressure took down NVAX stock and quite dramatically. Earlier this month, shares were trading decisively below $100. However, with renewed enthusiasm for vaccines, should investors take another shot?InvestorPlace – Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading TipsScientifically, the case for NVAX stock is an intriguing one. Currently, there are four major types of vaccines that are in various stages of clinical trials: traditional, subunit, viral vector and nucleic acid. For Novavax, it's running with a subunit vaccine, which involves injecting nanoparticle fragments (subunits) of the SARS-CoV-2 protein into the patient. From there, the body's cells undergo a complex process to develop antibodies that attach to and prevent the novel coronavirus from infecting healthy cells. * 10 Education Stocks to Buy for the Fall School Season While an effective platform (the hepatitis B vaccine utilizes the subunit approach), for the coronavirus, Novavax is still in phase 2 trials. However, many of the company's competitors are in phase 3 for their vaccine candidates. A Complicated Road for NVAX Stock AwaitsOn paper, falling behind in the clinical trial race may seem like a death sentence. Presumably, once one of the vaccine developers succeeds in a viable candidate, the federal government will support the victor. But the concept is hardly as streamlined as you might think.If you want to get a better idea of the present dynamic, you should consider old-school beat-em-up games. Many of these games allow you to pick characters of varying strengths and weaknesses. For instance, some characters are very powerful but slow. Others are lightning quick but lack reach.So it is with vaccine players and it will likely have a strong impact on NVAX stock. As I mentioned in an earlier article about Novavax, the pivotal advantage of subunit vaccines is that they are safe to use for immunosuppressed patients. With Covid-19 imposing the worst health outcomes for those with underlying conditions, this is not an attribute to ignore.That said, an unfortunate disadvantage is that subunits and Novavax's candidate in particular may be more expensive. The manufacturing process to develop the underlying nanoparticles is more involved than producing the traditional oligonucleotides that may be used in nucleic-acid vaccines.Further, while governmental support may make the cost argument a moot point, what cannot be swept under the rug is the manufacturing requirements. The subunit vaccine production process is unique and Novavax may need to build out more manufacturing capacity. That takes time, which is a luxury we don't have.However, nucleic-acid vaccine developers, such as Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA), have issues of their own. For example, the New England Journal of Medicine implied through its analysis of Moderna's messenger RNA vaccine that two doses may be required for its candidate to be truly effective.That would be inconvenient, to say the least. Novavax Has a Chance But It's a Tight RaceIn my opinion, Moderna has the lead specifically within the vaccination space. Not only is it in advanced stage trials without a hiccup – unlike AstraZeneca (NYSE:AZN) and its viral-vector approach – Moderna's mRNA-based vaccine lends itself to ease of manufacturing.Still, the knock against the company is that nucleic-acid based vaccines are unproven. It's the same situation with Inovio Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:INO). Further, in Inovio's case, there may be a risk that its DNA-based vaccine could affect the host's genome. In that case, it could cause cancer.For viral vectors, a concern exists that patients could develop a negative immune response to the vector (carrier) virus, which is how this approach inserts the genetic sequence of the novel coronavirus.As I mentioned with the video game analogy, there are really no standout winners in this rush to produce a Covid-19 vaccine. If you want proven efficacy, you'd go with traditional vaccines. But they take far too long to develop. If you want speed, your best bet is the nucleic-acid approach. However, concerns abound regarding its unproven nature.Therefore, in the midst of this craziness, Novavax could find itself relevant. By logical deduction, NVAX stock still has a chance, despite it falling behind in clinical trials. But if you choose to play, you better be ready for a wild ride.On the date of publication, Josh Enomoto did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.A former senior business analyst for Sony Electronics, Josh Enomoto has helped broker major contracts with Fortune Global 500 companies. Over the past several years, he has delivered unique, critical insights for the investment markets, as well as various other industries including legal, construction management, and healthcare. More From InvestorPlace * Why Everyone Is Investing in 5G All WRONG * America's 1 Stock Picker Reveals His Next 1,000% Winner * Revolutionary Tech Behind 5G Rollout Is Being Pioneered By This 1 Company * Radical New Battery Could Dismantle Oil Markets The post Why the Perplexing Science of Vaccines Keeps Novavax Around appeared first on InvestorPlace.