Valneva (NASDAQ:VALN) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Valneva SE Sponsored ADR (NASDAQ:VALN) shares gapped down before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $6.96, but opened at $6.68. Valneva shares last traded at $6.6450, with a volume of 3,874 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Valneva in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Wall Street Zen raised Valneva from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, TD Cowen started coverage on Valneva in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $12.00 price objective for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $11.98.

Valneva Stock Down 2.9%

The firm has a market capitalization of $641.08 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.20 and a beta of 1.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.04, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 1.69. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $5.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $6.82.

Valneva (NASDAQ:VALN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The company reported ($0.40) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.19) by ($0.21). Valneva had a negative return on equity of 153.20% and a negative net margin of 110.33%.The company had revenue of $39.37 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.17 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Valneva SE Sponsored ADR will post -1.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valneva

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VALN. Marex Group plc bought a new position in Valneva during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $64,000. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Valneva in the 4th quarter worth approximately $94,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. bought a new stake in shares of Valneva in the 3rd quarter valued at $124,000. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Valneva in the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. 11.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.