Why ContraFect, Evoke, Altimmune, Novavax Are Moving Friday

Among the health care stock movers Friday are ContraFect Corporation CFRX, Evoke Pharma, Inc. EVOK, Altimmune, Inc. ALT and Novavax, Inc. NVAX.

Here's why the stocks are moving.

ContraFect Bags BARDA Funding: ContraFect, a biotech focused on developing treatments for antibiotic-resistant infections, said late Thursday BARDA has awarded $86.8 million in funding for supporting the pivotal late-stage study of exebacase as a treatment option for blood stream infection as well as infection of the heart's inner lining caused by the staphylococcus aureus bacteria.

If the Phase 3 data proves to be positive, BARDA could extend additional financial assistance upon achievement of key milestones to advance the investigational asset through FDA approval and completion of post-approval commitments.

Evoke Plunges On Gimoti Disappointment: Evoke was pulling back sharply following the release of its fourth-quarter results. The company's fourth-quarter revenues were below par at $23,000, as Gimoti sales trailed expectations.

In November, H.C. Wainwright analyst Raghuram Selvaraju said he expects Gimoti sales of $1.2 million for 2020.

Gimoti nasal spray, the company's first commercial product, was approved in late June as a treatment option for gastroparesis, a condition that affects the stomach muscles and prevents proper stomach emptying.

The net loss per share widened from 6 cents to 9 cents, while analysts estimated a wider loss of 13 cents per share.

Related Link: The Week Ahead In Biotech (March 7-13): Conference Presentations And More Earnings

Altimmune Expands Vaccine Manufacturing Deal: Altimmune announced an expansion to its previously announced collaboration with Swiss contract development and manufacturing organization Lonza to manufacture AdCOVID.

AdCOVID is the company's single-dose intranasal vaccine candidate for COVID-19.

Under the expanded scope, Lonza will commission a dedicated manufacturing suite for clinical and commercial production of AdCOVID at its facility near Houston, Texas.

Altimmune recently started the Phase 1 study of AdCOVID following robust preclinical data. The company is bracing for data readout from the study in the second quarter of 2021.

Novavax's Final Late-Stage Vaccine Data Confirms Efficacy: Novavax's NVXCoV2373, a protein-based COVID-19 vaccine candidate, showed 96.4% efficacy against mild, moderate and severe disease caused by the original COVID-19 strain in a pivotal Phase 3 U.K. study.

The results also showed high level of efficacy against emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants that could be resistant to currently authorized vaccines.

Reacting to the data release, H.C. Wainwright analyst Vernon Bernardino reiterated a Buy rating on Novavax shares and increased the price target from $207 to $317.

The Price Action: ContraFect shares were down 3.31% at $6.14. 

Evoke shares were plummeting 19.36% to $2.50.

Altimmune was down 1.84% at $16.57. 

Novavax shares were gaining 4.26% to $195.63. 

Related Link: The Daily Biotech Pulse: Novavax Vaccine Data, ContraFect Secures BARDA Funding, 2 IPOs