Canaccord Genuity Group Has Lowered Expectations for BioNTech (NASDAQ:BNTX) Stock Price

Key Points

• Canaccord Genuity Group lowered BioNTech’s price target from $136 to $132 but maintained a “buy” rating, implying approximately 48.3% upside from the reported $89.01 share price. The broader analyst consensus remained “Moderate Buy,” with an average target of $125.44.
• BioNTech reported a quarterly loss of $2.53 per share versus the expected $2.40 loss, while revenue fell 59.5% year over year to $122.31 million, below the $180.18 million consensus estimate.
• Investor risks remain elevated: the company’s BNT113 cancer-vaccine trial missed its progression-free-survival endpoint, and insiders sold about $79.2 million of shares over the prior three months, including a significant sale by CEO Ugur Sahin.

BioNTech (NASDAQ:BNTX - Get Free Report) had its target price lowered by stock analysts at Canaccord Genuity Group from $136.00 to $132.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "buy" rating on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group's price target indicates a potential upside of 48.30% from the company's current price.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on BNTX. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of BioNTech in a research report on Wednesday, September 16th. BMO Capital Markets cut shares of BioNTech from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of BioNTech in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on BioNTech from $115.00 to $114.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Finally, Argus initiated coverage on BioNTech in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $125.44.

BioNTech Stock Down 7.1%

NASDAQ:BNTX opened at $89.01 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $99.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $95.29. The firm has a market cap of $22.51 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.37 and a beta of 1.25. BioNTech has a fifty-two week low of $79.52 and a fifty-two week high of $124.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 7.80 and a current ratio of 7.85.

BioNTech (NASDAQ:BNTX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($2.53) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($2.40) by ($0.13). BioNTech had a negative net margin of 63.54% and a negative return on equity of 6.86%. The firm had revenue of $122.31 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $180.18 million. During the same period last year, the business earned ($1.60) EPS. BioNTech's revenue was down 59.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that BioNTech will post -6.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at BioNTech

In other news, CEO Ugur Sahin sold 36,209 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.37, for a total value of $3,453,252.33. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 36,209 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,453,252.33. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 807,209 shares of company stock valued at $79,246,837. Insiders own 19.20% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BioNTech

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Flossbach Von Storch SE acquired a new position in shares of BioNTech in the second quarter worth about $207,142,000. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of BioNTech by 116.0% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 839,991 shares of the company's stock worth $74,658,000 after acquiring an additional 451,124 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of BioNTech during the 2nd quarter valued at about $39,385,000. SEB Asset Management AB acquired a new stake in shares of BioNTech during the 1st quarter valued at about $17,804,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of BioNTech by 22.6% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 903,029 shares of the company's stock valued at $80,261,000 after acquiring an additional 166,432 shares during the period. 15.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting BioNTech

Here are the key news stories impacting BioNTech this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BioNTech said the AHEAD-MERIT trial will continue, and overall-survival data remain immature. Citi analysts said positive survival results could preserve a meaningful development and regulatory path for BNT113, limiting the downside if the longer-term data are favorable. BioNTech’s cancer drug misses a key trial goal – Citi says survival data could preserve a meaningful development path
• Neutral Sentiment: Evercore ISI said the PFS miss was not entirely surprising, suggesting investors may have already recognized risks related to the trial design and treatment setting. However, the failed endpoint remains a significant clinical setback. BioNTech cancer vaccine trial PFS miss ‘not surprising,’ says Evercore ISI
• Neutral Sentiment: BNT113 was tested with pembrolizumab in previously untreated patients with advanced HPV16-positive head and neck cancer. The company’s full assessment now depends heavily on overall-survival results and additional trial analysis. BioNTech provides update on BNT113 trial
• Negative Sentiment: The PFS failure has deepened doubts about BioNTech’s broader mRNA cancer-vaccine strategy. BMO Capital maintained a Hold rating and linked the result to wider challenges facing the field, while commentary highlighted Moderna’s stronger recent cancer-vaccine performance. BNTX stock selloff deepens doubts

BioNTech Company Profile

BioNTech SE is a biotechnology company headquartered in Mainz, Germany, focused on developing therapies and vaccines for cancer and other serious diseases. The company's research platform includes messenger RNA (mRNA), individualized cancer vaccines, immune-modulating therapies, cell therapies, and protein-based therapeutics.

BioNTech is best known for developing the Comirnaty COVID-19 vaccine in collaboration with Pfizer. Comirnaty uses mRNA technology to help stimulate an immune response against COVID-19 and has been distributed in markets around the world.

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