Novavax Inc. shares gained the most in two years after the Covid-19 vaccine maker announced a restructuring plan that includes cutting about 25% of its global workforce.
The company will also consolidate its facilities and infrastructure, according to a statement Tuesday. A spokesperson declined to give a number for the global workforce, which includes both employees and contractors. Novavax had just under 2,000 employees at the end of last year.
The shares rose as much as 50% in New York, their biggest gain since January 2021. The stock had fallen about 86% over the past 12 months amid concerns about whether the company would be able to stay in business.
Pfizer Inc., Moderna Inc. and other companies that answered the call to mass-produce pandemic products on short notice are now seeing a reversal of demand as the World Health Organization and countries including the US drop their pandemic emergency alert levels. Like other vaccine makers, Novavax is looking to combine its Covid shot with a preventive for influenza to be used seasonally.
“Reducing our workforce has been a difficult decision, but we believe it was necessary to better align our infrastructure and scale to the endemic Covid opportunity,” Chief Executive Officer John Jacobs said in the statement.
Novavax’s total revenue for the first quarter was about $81 million, the Gaithersburg, Maryland-based company said, down from $704 million a year ago. Analysts had estimated sales of $85.5 million. The company expects sales for the full year will be in the range of $1.4 billion to $1.6 billion.
(Updates with company comment in second paragraph.)
