Valneva (NASDAQ:VALN) Trading Up 8.6% – Still a Buy?

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on VALN. Guggenheim set a $11.00 price objective on Valneva in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Valneva from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $4.90 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Valneva from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $11.98.

Valneva Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $591.16 million, a PE ratio of -3.33 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. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $6.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $8.39.

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

Institutional Trading of Valneva

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Valneva in the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC increased 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 valued at $110,000 after acquiring an additional 5,000 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. bought a new position in Valneva during the third quarter worth $124,000. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in Valneva during the fourth quarter worth $94,000. Finally, Marex Group plc bought a new position in Valneva during the second quarter worth $64,000. 11.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.