BioNTech (NASDAQ:BNTX) Rating Lowered to Sell at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded BioNTech from “hold” to “sell,” although broader analyst sentiment remains “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $127.81.
• BioNTech reported a quarterly loss of $2.26 per share and revenue of $136.71 million, which fell 35.4% year over year and missed revenue expectations; analysts project a full-year loss of $5.70 per share.
• The company approved a $1 billion share-repurchase program, allowing it to buy back up to 4.2% of outstanding shares, while institutional investors own 15.52% of the stock.

BioNTech (NASDAQ:BNTX - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on BNTX. UBS Group upgraded shares of BioNTech from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $117.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $142.00 target price on BioNTech in a research report on Wednesday. Berenberg Bank reduced their target price on BioNTech from $155.00 to $140.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on BioNTech from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of BioNTech in a research report on Friday, June 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, BioNTech presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $127.81.

BioNTech Stock Performance

BNTX opened at $93.67 on Friday. BioNTech has a 52-week low of $79.52 and a 52-week high of $124.00. The company has a quick ratio of 8.74, a current ratio of 7.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a market cap of $23.69 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.96 and a beta of 1.27. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $91.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $96.93.

BioNTech (NASDAQ:BNTX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The company reported ($2.26) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($2.52) by $0.26. BioNTech had a negative net margin of 63.54% and a negative return on equity of 6.86%. The company had revenue of $136.71 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $207.42 million. During the same period last year, the business earned ($1.73) EPS. BioNTech's revenue for the quarter was down 35.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that BioNTech will post -5.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BioNTech announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 7th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 4.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of BioNTech

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in BioNTech by 86.4% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 274 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC raised its position in BioNTech by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 21,065 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,005,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its stake in BioNTech by 4.0% in the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 4,290 shares of the company's stock worth $418,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its position in shares of BioNTech by 520.0% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 310 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in BioNTech by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 28,815 shares of the company's stock worth $3,068,000 after buying an additional 289 shares during the last quarter. 15.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BioNTech Company Profile

BioNTech SE NASDAQ: BNTX is a Germany-based biotechnology company that develops next-generation immunotherapies and vaccines, with a primary focus on messenger RNA (mRNA) technology. Founded in 2008 and headquartered in Mainz, BioNTech advances a platform approach to design and manufacture therapeutics across oncology, infectious diseases and other high unmet-need areas. The company is publicly traded on the NASDAQ exchange and became widely known for its rapid development and global deployment of an mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine in collaboration with Pfizer.

BioNTech's core activities include discovery research, clinical development and manufacturing of mRNA-based medicines, personalized cancer immunotherapies, engineered cell therapies, and antibody- and protein-based therapeutics.

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