Morning Commentary: Convertibles trade mildly; Western Digital down; Novavax flat

By Rebecca Melvin

Concord, N.H., Oct. 6 – The U.S. convertibles market was trading a little light early Wednesday amid another sell-off in stock markets and amid no new convertible issuance reported in the primary market to spur activity.

About $155 million of convertible bonds changed hands by late morning, a market source said, citing reported volume.

The active names were a sundry bunch.

Western Digital Corp.’s convertibles were seen as one of the day’s most active traders. The 1.5% Western Digital bonds due 2024 were last quoted at 100.25, which was down fractionally or by 0.375 point.

The bonds traded against shares of the computer hard disk drive maker and storage company that were trading down about 2% plus and heading downward. At 11:30 a.m. ET, Western Digital’s stock was down $1.85, or 3.3%, to $55.11. The $17.18 billion market cap company has seen a 24% drop in shares in the past six months.

Elsewhere, Novavax Inc.’s convertibles were trading but unchanged on the day. The 3.75% convertibles due 2023 were last seen at 146.17, while shares of the vaccine specialist traded downward.

Novavax’s shares were last at $167.46, which was off $2.40, or 1.4%, which was off the session lows.

Novavax’s shares plunged in September as hopes for its Covid-19 vaccine remain unfulfilled as it continues to await regulatory approval. On Monday, the Gaithersburg, Md.-based company announced new leadership appointments.

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