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

Valneva SE Sponsored ADR (NASDAQ:VALN)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $11.01, but opened at $11.46. Valneva shares last traded at $11.11, with a volume of 4,380 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wall Street Zen cut Valneva from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, December 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $15.00.

Valneva Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The company has a market cap of $947.35 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.65 and a beta of 1.80. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $10.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $9.65.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valneva

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VALN. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. acquired a new position in Valneva in the 2nd quarter valued at about $8,240,000. Marex Group plc acquired a new stake in shares of Valneva during the second quarter worth about $64,000. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Valneva during the fourth quarter worth about $94,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. purchased a new position in shares of Valneva in the third quarter valued at approximately $124,000. Finally, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC boosted 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 valued at $110,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the period. 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.