Novavax up; Shah Capital to vote against board, exec pay

Shares of vaccine maker Novavax NVAX.O rise 4.5% to $8.33

Activist investor Shah Capital plans to vote against the re-election of board nominees and the executive compensation package at Novavax's upcoming annual meeting

In a letter sent Wednesday, Shah Capital founder Himanshu Shah criticizes management for failing to implement aggressive cost-cutting measures

Investor urges company to slash expenses and opportunistically repurchase 10–20 mln shares

Shah Capital owns about 9% of Novavax, making it the company's second-largest shareholder

The hedge fund has been pressing the board to pursue strategic alternatives, including a potential sale of the biotech firm

Including session moves, stock up 23.8% YTD