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

Valneva SE Sponsored ADR (NASDAQ:VALN)’s stock 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 Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Guggenheim set a $11.00 price target on Valneva in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Valneva from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut Valneva from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $4.90 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $11.98.

Valneva Stock Down 3.4%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.14, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 2.14. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $5.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $8.28. The company has a market cap of $519.52 million, a PE ratio of -2.93 and a beta of 1.75.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valneva

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VALN. Marex Group plc bought a new stake in Valneva in the second quarter valued at approximately $64,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Valneva during the third quarter valued at approximately $124,000. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in shares of Valneva in the fourth quarter worth approximately $94,000. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Valneva in the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 5,000 shares during the period. 11.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.