Valneva (NASDAQ:VALN) Shares Gap Up - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Shares gapped up — Valneva opened at $11.27 versus a $10.50 prior close (last $11.30), trading up about 6.2% on light volume with a market cap near $960M and 50/200-day moving averages around $10.01/$9.59.
• Analyst picture is mixed: Wall Street Zen recently cut the stock to a Sell, but the consensus per MarketBeat is a "Moderate Buy" (3 Buy ratings, 1 Sell) with an average target price of $15.00.
• Company and fundamentals — Valneva is a specialty vaccine maker (IXIARO, DUKORAL), carries a negative PE (-7.74) and modest leverage (debt/equity 0.72), and institutional investors/hedge funds own about 11.4% of the stock.

Shares of Valneva SE Sponsored ADR (NASDAQ:VALN - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $10.50, but opened at $11.27. Valneva shares last traded at $11.30, with a volume of 4,282 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Valneva Trading Up 6.2%

The stock has a market cap of $960.13 million, a PE ratio of -7.74 and a beta of 1.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.78. The company has a 50 day moving average of $10.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $9.59.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Valneva

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Valneva during the second quarter worth about $8,240,000. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Valneva in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Marex Group plc acquired a new stake in shares of Valneva in the second quarter worth approximately $64,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Valneva during the third quarter worth approximately $124,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in Valneva in the 4th quarter valued at $94,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.

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