Valneva (NASDAQ:VALN) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Shares of Valneva SE Sponsored ADR (NASDAQ:VALN) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $9.07, but opened at $9.88. Valneva shares last traded at $9.75, with a volume of 9,884 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VALN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Valneva in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Valneva from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $15.00.

Valneva Stock Up 6.6%

The company has a market cap of $832.68 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.72 and a beta of 1.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 1.36. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $9.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $9.30.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valneva

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Valneva during the fourth quarter worth $44,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. bought a new position in shares of Valneva during the third quarter valued at $124,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Valneva by 125.0% in the 3rd 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. Marex Group plc acquired a new stake in shares of Valneva during the second quarter worth $64,000. Finally, Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Valneva during the 2nd quarter worth about $8,240,000. 11.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.