** Brokerage Citi Research starts coverage on vaccine maker Novavax NVAX.O with "sell/high risk" rating and $6 PT
** PT represents a near 15% downside to the stock's last close
** Brokerage says Novavax is too focused on respiratory vaccines, a market that's seeing declining vaccination rates
** The COVID-19 vaccine market is shrinking yearly (10% decline overall, 12% decline in under-65 segment), brokerage says
** Brokerage also flags competition for NVAX in the respiratory vaccine space from established players such as Pfizer PFE.N, Moderna MRNA.O and GSK GSK.L
** Brokerage raises concerns for NVAX since FDA approved Novavax's COVID vaccine (Nuvaxovid) only for adults 65+ and high-risk individuals 12-64 years old, unlike Pfizer and Moderna vaccines which don't face these restrictions
** "We think this is worthwhile noting, given it provides perhaps the first concrete example of Robert Kennedy Jr’s/Marty Makary's FDA and its views on COVID vaccination" - Citi Research
** As of last close, NVAX stock down 12.6% YTD
(Reporting by Padmanabhan Ananthan)
((Padmanabhan.Ananthan@thomsonreuters.com))