Valneva SE Sponsored ADR (NASDAQ:VALN) Short Interest Up 64.6% in August

Key Points

• Valneva SE saw a significant increase in short interest, rising by 64.6% in August, with total short interest reaching 74,900 shares.
• Hedge funds have been actively acquiring positions in Valneva, with notable investments including $8.24 million from Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P.
• Analysts currently have a buy rating on Valneva with an average target price of $15.33, while the stock has a recent price of $8.65.

Valneva SE Sponsored ADR (NASDAQ:VALN - Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totaling 74,900 shares, an increase of 64.6% from the July 31st total of 45,500 shares. Currently, 0.1% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 63,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.2 days. Based on an average daily volume of 63,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.2 days. Currently, 0.1% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VALN has been the topic of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group set a $14.00 price target on Valneva and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 25th. Guggenheim lowered their target price on Valneva from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and set a $18.00 price target on shares of Valneva in a research note on Monday, August 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Valneva to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, September 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $15.00.

Valneva Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VALN traded up $0.17 during trading on Thursday, hitting $9.23. 75,895 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 70,561. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 2.27 and a quick ratio of 1.77. Valneva has a 1 year low of $3.62 and a 1 year high of $12.25. The company has a market cap of $793.11 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.42 and a beta of 1.79. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $8.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $7.11.

Valneva (NASDAQ:VALN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 12th. The company reported ($0.16) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.27) by $0.11. The business had revenue of $54.84 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $46.28 million. Valneva had a negative net margin of 33.87% and a negative return on equity of 34.78%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Valneva will post 0.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Valneva

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Marex Group plc acquired a new stake in shares of Valneva in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $64,000. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Valneva in the first quarter valued at $94,000. Finally, Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Valneva during the 2nd quarter worth $8,240,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 11.39% of the company's stock.

About Valneva

Valneva SE, a specialty vaccine company, develops, manufactures, and commercializes prophylactic vaccines for infectious diseases with unmet needs. It offers IXIARO, an inactivated Vero cell culture-derived Japanese encephalitis vaccine indicated for active immunization against Japanese encephalitis; DUKORAL, an oral vaccine for the prevention of diarrhea caused by Vibrio cholera and/or heat-labile toxin producing enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli bacterium; IXCHIQ, a single-dose, live-attenuated vaccine for the prevention of disease caused by chikungunya virus; and VLA2001, an inactivated whole-virus COVID-19 vaccine.