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 $5.30, but opened at $5.74. Valneva shares last traded at $5.6950, with a volume of 12,095 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on VALN shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Valneva in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Valneva in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $12.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Valneva from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $4.90 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Guggenheim set a $11.00 target price on shares of Valneva in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Valneva from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $11.98.

Valneva Price Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $5.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $6.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.14, a current ratio of 2.14 and a quick ratio of 1.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $526.64 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.97 and a beta of 1.77.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Valneva

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Marex Group plc acquired a new position in shares of Valneva during the 2nd quarter worth about $64,000. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in Valneva in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $94,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. bought a new position in Valneva in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $124,000. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Valneva in the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. 11.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.