Valneva (NASDAQ:VALN) Sets New 12-Month Low After Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs downgraded Valneva from neutral to sell and set a $4.90 price target, sending shares to a new 52-week low of $5.22 (last $5.25) on heavy volume.
• Fundamentals and analyst views are weak/mixed: Valneva reported Q EPS of ($0.68) with negative ROE and margins, sell-side forecasts -0.81 EPS for the year, and the consensus rating is Hold (consensus target $11.98, with 3 Buys and 2 Sells).

Valneva SE Sponsored ADR (NASDAQ:VALN - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week low on Wednesday after The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded the stock from a neutral rating to a sell rating. The Goldman Sachs Group now has a $4.90 price target on the stock. Valneva traded as low as $5.22 and last traded at $5.25, with a volume of 463879 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $5.93.

Separately, Guggenheim set a $11.00 price objective on shares of Valneva in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $11.98.

Institutional Trading of Valneva

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Valneva by 125.0% during the 3rd quarter. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 9,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $110,000 after buying an additional 5,000 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. purchased a new stake in Valneva during the 3rd quarter worth $124,000. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in Valneva during the 4th quarter worth $94,000. Marex Group plc purchased a new stake in Valneva during the 2nd quarter worth $64,000. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Valneva during the 4th quarter worth $44,000. 11.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Valneva Price Performance

The business's 50-day moving average is $8.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.11. The company has a current ratio of 2.38, a quick ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52.

Valneva (NASDAQ:VALN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Sunday, February 15th. The company reported ($0.68) earnings per share for the quarter. Valneva had a negative return on equity of 76.81% and a negative net margin of 67.64%.The business had revenue of $55.92 million for the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Valneva SE Sponsored ADR will post -0.81 earnings per share for the current year.

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.

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