BioNTech (NASDAQ:BNTX) Upgraded to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• BioNTech was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “sell” to a “hold” rating, even as other analysts remain mostly bullish. The stock’s overall consensus rating is still Moderate Buy with a target price of $129.12.
• Shares were trading around $91.48, near the company’s 50-day moving average and below its 200-day moving average. BioNTech has a market cap of $23.13 billion and a 1-year trading range of $79.52 to $124.00.
• The company recently beat EPS estimates but missed revenue expectations, with quarterly revenue down 35.4% year over year. BioNTech also authorized a $1 billion share buyback, which management may see as a sign the stock is undervalued.

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

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of BioNTech in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target on shares of BioNTech from $171.00 to $158.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of BioNTech in a research note on Monday, June 1st. UBS Group raised shares of BioNTech from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $117.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of BioNTech in a research note on Monday, July 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, BioNTech has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $129.12.

BioNTech Trading Down 0.1%

NASDAQ:BNTX opened at $91.48 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 8.80 and a quick ratio of 8.74. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $91.35 and a 200-day moving average of $97.81. The company has a market cap of $23.13 billion, a PE ratio of -15.56 and a beta of 1.32. BioNTech has a one year low of $79.52 and a one year high of $124.00.

BioNTech (NASDAQ:BNTX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The company reported ($2.26) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($2.52) by $0.26. BioNTech had a negative return on equity of 5.30% and a negative net margin of 44.39%.The company had revenue of $136.71 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $207.42 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($1.73) earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 35.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that BioNTech will post -5.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BioNTech declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 4.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at BioNTech

In related news, COO Sierk Poetting sold 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.56, for a total transaction of $5,528,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 399,387 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,156,226.72. This trade represents a 11.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 19.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BNTX. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of BioNTech by 95.9% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 7,177 shares of the company's stock worth $653,000 after purchasing an additional 3,514 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC bought a new position in BioNTech during the first quarter valued at $167,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in BioNTech by 368,800.0% in the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 11,067 shares of the company's stock worth $1,178,000 after buying an additional 11,064 shares during the last quarter. Natixis purchased a new stake in BioNTech in the second quarter worth $985,000. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main increased its position in BioNTech by 2.9% in the second quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 492,045 shares of the company's stock worth $52,416,000 after buying an additional 13,788 shares during the last quarter. 15.52% of the stock is owned by 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.