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

Shares of Valneva SE Sponsored ADR (NASDAQ:VALN) gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $8.41, but opened at $8.83. Valneva shares last traded at $8.8050, with a volume of 4,199 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on VALN shares. Wall Street Zen cut Valneva from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, December 6th. Guggenheim dropped their price objective on Valneva from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Valneva in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $15.00.

Valneva Trading Up 6.3%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.78. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $8.92 and a 200 day moving average of $8.62. The company has a market capitalization of $769.00 million, a PE ratio of -6.21 and a beta of 1.83.

Valneva (NASDAQ:VALN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The company reported ($0.61) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.30) by ($0.31). Valneva had a negative net margin of 57.81% and a negative return on equity of 59.44%. The company had revenue of $34.01 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $48.85 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Valneva SE Sponsored ADR will post 0.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valneva

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Marex Group plc purchased a new position in Valneva in the 2nd quarter worth about $64,000. 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 valued at $110,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. acquired a new position in shares of Valneva during the third quarter worth $124,000. Finally, Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Valneva in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $8,240,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 11.39% of the company’s stock.

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.