Valneva (NASDAQ:VALN) Shares Up 8.6% – Time to Buy?

Valneva SE Sponsored ADR (NASDAQ:VALN) shares traded up 8.6% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $6.73 and last traded at $6.57. 54,807 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 13% from the average session volume of 63,209 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.05.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on VALN. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Valneva from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $4.90 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Valneva from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, Guggenheim set a $11.00 target price on Valneva in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $11.98.

Valneva Stock Up 4.4%

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $6.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $8.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $599.21 million, a P/E ratio of -3.38 and a beta of 1.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.14, a current ratio of 2.14 and a quick ratio of 1.60.

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

Institutional Trading of Valneva

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Valneva in the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Marex Group plc bought a new position in shares of Valneva during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $64,000. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in Valneva in the 4th quarter worth approximately $94,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC increased its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 5,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. bought a new stake in Valneva during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $124,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 11.39% of the company’s stock.

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.