Novavax Inc. (NASDAQ: NVAX) announced that its second-largest shareholder, Shah Capital Fund LLC, has sold approximately 2.87 million shares valued at $32.6 million. The sale, executed at an average price of $11.3486 per share as of Oct. 5, was disclosed in an SEC filing dated Oct. 16.
Shah Capital is transitioning its operations by withdrawing its registration as an investment adviser with the SEC and establishing a family office structure to manage Himanshu Shah’s family investments. As part of this restructuring, the firm stated it no longer intends to influence Novavax’s corporate control and plans to report its holdings under Schedule 13G.
Despite the sale, Himanshu Shah retains beneficial ownership of approximately 10.66 million Novavax shares, representing 6.46% of the company. The firm previously held a 7.2% stake and had been an activist investor since October 2025.
During its activist campaign, Shah Capital urged Novavax to consider a sale of the biotech firm, suggesting that major pharmaceutical companies such as Sanofi SA (NASDAQ: SNY), Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK), GSK Plc (NYSE: GSK), and AstraZeneca Plc (NASDAQ: AZN) could be potential buyers. The firm cited continued struggles in the rollout of Novavax's COVID-19 vaccine and projected only about $22 million in 2025 revenue for the product.
In April, Shah Capital announced it would vote against the company’s board nominees and executive compensation at the 2026 annual meeting, citing prolonged shareholder value destruction and weak operational execution. The firm argued that leadership had failed to translate Novavax’s vaccine platform into meaningful commercial success.
Regarding commercial performance, Novavax’s partners received approvals in August for the Nuvaxovid formulation targeting the SARS-CoV-2 XFG variant for the 2026-2027 vaccination season in major markets including the U.S., European Union, and Japan. Sanofi, Novavax’s largest partner, leads Nuvaxovid commercial activities across most major markets, while Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. (NYSE: TAK) commercializes the vaccine in Japan.
