Valneva (NASDAQ:VALN) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Valneva SE Sponsored ADR (NASDAQ:VALN)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $5.59, but opened at $6.17. Valneva shares last traded at $6.4150, with a volume of 34,411 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VALN has been the subject of several recent research reports. Guggenheim set a $11.00 price target on shares of Valneva in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Valneva to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Valneva from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $4.90 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $11.98.

Valneva Stock Up 12.9%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 1.85 and a current ratio of 2.38. The company has a market capitalization of $543.35 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.99 and a beta of 1.72. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $7.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $8.75.

Valneva (NASDAQ:VALN) last issued its earnings results on Sunday, February 15th. The company reported ($0.68) earnings per share for the quarter. Valneva had a negative net margin of 67.64% and a negative return on equity of 76.81%. The business had revenue of $55.92 million during the quarter. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Valneva SE Sponsored ADR will post -0.81 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Valneva

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Valneva in the fourth quarter worth $44,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC increased its position in Valneva by 125.0% in the third quarter. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 9,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $110,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. acquired a new position in shares of Valneva during the 3rd quarter worth about $124,000. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Valneva during the 4th quarter worth about $94,000. Finally, Marex Group plc bought a new position in shares of Valneva during the 2nd quarter valued at about $64,000. 11.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Valneva Company Profile

Valneva SE is a specialty vaccine company focused on the development and commercialization of prophylactic vaccines for infectious diseases. Headquartered in Saint-Herblain, France, the company applies inactivated whole-cell and recombinant technology platforms to address public health needs. Valneva’s research and development efforts span a range of viral and bacterial pathogens, with an emphasis on travel-related and emerging infectious diseases.

Among its marketed products, Valneva offers IXIARO®/JESPECT® for the prevention of Japanese encephalitis and DUKORAL® for the prevention of cholera and diarrhea caused by enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli.