Novavax NVAX shares soared 10.9% in the last trading session to close at $10.82. The move was backed by solid volume with far more shares changing hands than in a normal session. This compares to the stock's 7.6% gain over the past four weeks.

The surge in stock price came as investors turned their attention toward the potential demand for vaccines targeting the H5N1 virus, also known as bird flu. On Monday, the U.S. CDC reported the first human death in the country from bird flu. The company is currently progressing with the development of a vaccine targeting the H5N1 virus.

This vaccine maker is expected to post quarterly loss of $0.67 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +53.5%. Revenues are expected to be $90.72 million, down 68.9% from the year-ago quarter.

Earnings and revenue growth expectations certainly give a good sense of the potential strength in a stock, but empirical research shows that trends in earnings estimate revisions are strongly correlated with near-term stock price movements.

For Novavax, the consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has remained unchanged over the last 30 days. And a stock's price usually doesn't keep moving higher in the absence of any trend in earnings estimate revisions. So, make sure to keep an eye on NVAX going forward to see if this recent jump can turn into more strength down the road.

The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>>

Novavax belongs to the Zacks Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry. Another stock from the same industry, Tarsus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. TARS, closed the last trading session 2% lower at $55.08. Over the past month, TARS has returned 10.9%.

Tarsus Pharmaceuticals' consensus EPS estimate for the upcoming report has remained unchanged over the past month at -$0.71. Compared to the company's year-ago EPS, this represents a change of +45.8%. Tarsus Pharmaceuticals currently boasts a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

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