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

Valneva SE Sponsored ADR (NASDAQ:VALN) gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $6.30, but opened at $6.60. Valneva shares last traded at $6.67, with a volume of 8,909 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on VALN shares. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Valneva in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $12.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Valneva in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Valneva from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $9.30.

Valneva Stock Up 8.4%

The firm has a market capitalization of $675.62 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.37 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a current ratio of 2.16. The business’s 50 day moving average is $5.61 and its 200-day moving average is $6.65.

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

Institutional Trading of Valneva

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VALN. Marex Group plc bought a new position in Valneva in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $64,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. bought a new stake in shares of Valneva in the third quarter valued at approximately $124,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Valneva in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $94,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.