Valneva (NASDAQ:VALN) Sees Large Volume Increase – Should You Buy?

Valneva SE Sponsored ADR (NASDAQ:VALN) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Friday . Approximately 12,565 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 0% from the previous session’s volume of 12,527 shares.The stock last traded at $9.51 and had previously closed at $9.42.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on VALN. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Valneva in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen cut Valneva from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $15.00.

Valneva Stock Performance

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 firm has a market capitalization of $796.52 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.42 and a beta of 1.83. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $9.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.20.

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

Institutional Trading of Valneva

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VALN. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Valneva in the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Marex Group plc bought a new stake in Valneva in the second quarter valued at about $64,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC raised its holdings 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 worth $110,000 after buying an additional 5,000 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. acquired a new stake in Valneva in the 3rd quarter valued at $124,000. Finally, Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. acquired a new position in Valneva during the second quarter worth $8,240,000. 11.39% of the stock is currently 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.