BioNTech SE Sponsored ADR (NASDAQ:BNTX) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analyst consensus: Eighteen firms give BioNTech a “Moderate Buy” consensus (12 buy, 1 strong buy, 4 hold, 1 sell) with an average 12‑month price target of about $133.13.
• Recent financials: Shares opened at $95.50 (market cap $24.15B); the company reported Q1 EPS of ($0.39) on $1.06B revenue, a negative net margin of 38.09%, and analysts forecast roughly -4.55 EPS for the year.
• Insider and institutional activity: COO Sierk Poetting sold 50,000 shares at ~$110.56 under a pre‑arranged 10b5‑1 plan (insiders own ~19.2%), while several hedge funds and institutions have recently raised their BioNTech stakes.

Shares of BioNTech SE Sponsored ADR (NASDAQ:BNTX - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by the eighteen research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have given a hold recommendation, twelve have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $133.1333.

A number of research firms recently weighed in on BNTX. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of BioNTech from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of BioNTech from $116.00 to $94.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of BioNTech in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Truist Financial raised shares of BioNTech to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of BioNTech in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th.

BioNTech Stock Down 3.9%

Shares of BNTX opened at $95.50 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.15 billion, a P/E ratio of -18.23 and a beta of 1.36. BioNTech has a 12-month low of $79.52 and a 12-month high of $124.00. The company has a current ratio of 7.54, a quick ratio of 7.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $97.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $101.06.

BioNTech (NASDAQ:BNTX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Saturday, February 14th. The company reported ($0.39) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter. BioNTech had a negative net margin of 38.09% and a negative return on equity of 4.76%. Equities research analysts expect that BioNTech will post -4.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Sierk Poetting sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company's stock, valued at $44,156,226.72. This represents a 11.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 19.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BioNTech

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Long Focus Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in BioNTech by 91.3% in the third quarter. Long Focus Capital Management LLC now owns 397,655 shares of the company's stock worth $39,217,000 after purchasing an additional 189,752 shares during the last quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP grew its holdings in BioNTech by 36.7% in the third quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 205,004 shares of the company's stock worth $20,217,000 after purchasing an additional 55,004 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its holdings in BioNTech by 41.6% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 88,838 shares of the company's stock worth $8,457,000 after purchasing an additional 26,119 shares during the last quarter. LBP AM SA increased its holdings in shares of BioNTech by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. LBP AM SA now owns 368,584 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,089,000 after acquiring an additional 15,255 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of BioNTech by 97.0% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 413,685 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,531,000 after purchasing an additional 203,700 shares during the last quarter. 15.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About BioNTech

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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