Novavax shares sink on business survival worries

STORY: Novavax shares plunged by almost a quarter on Wednesday (March 1).

Investors sold the stock a day after the firm raised doubts about its ability to stay in business.

On Tuesday (February 28), the health crisis vaccine maker warned it was uncertain about its revenue this year.

It also said the U.S. government had not extended its agreement to buy shots beyond December 2023.

One leading analyst believed the going-concern worries are due to near-term uncertainties.

That due to questions over Novavax's ability to deliver a variant-adaptive vaccine in time, and prospects for U.S. government grants.

Novavax's health crisis vaccine was expected to win over those skeptical about shots from rivals like Moderna, which use novel mRNA technology.

But the vaccine has been hit by manufacturing and regulatory delays.

Government data showed that, as of March 1, just under 80,000 doses of the Novavax shot had been given to people in the U.S.

It was also the company's first marketed product after more than 35 years in business.

Novavax shares lost almost 93% of their value last year.