Valneva (NASDAQ:VALN) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Valneva SE Sponsored ADR (NASDAQ:VALN)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $5.67, but opened at $5.93. Valneva shares last traded at $5.5940, with a volume of 12,711 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on VALN. 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 report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Valneva from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Guggenheim set a $11.00 price objective on Valneva in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $11.98.

Valneva Stock Down 3.4%

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $5.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $8.28. The company has a current ratio of 2.14, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $519.52 million, a P/E ratio of -2.93 and a beta of 1.75.

Valneva (NASDAQ:VALN) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The company reported ($0.42) earnings per share for the quarter. Valneva had a negative net margin of 88.87% and a negative return on equity of 107.63%. The company had revenue of $35.77 million for the quarter. Research analysts expect that Valneva SE Sponsored ADR will post -1 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Marex Group plc purchased a new position in shares of Valneva in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $64,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. bought a new stake in shares of Valneva during the third quarter valued at approximately $124,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC grew its stake 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. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Valneva in the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in Valneva in the fourth quarter worth $94,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 11.39% of the company’s stock.

About Valneva

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.