Aigen Investment Management LP Makes New Investment in BioNTech SE Sponsored ADR $BNTX

Key Points

• Aigen Investment Management opened a new position in BioNTech during the fourth quarter, buying 20,988 shares worth about $2.0 million.
• Several other hedge funds also increased their BioNTech stakes, and institutional investors now own 15.52% of the stock.
• BioNTech announced a $1 billion share repurchase program, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with a consensus price target of $129.56.

Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new position in BioNTech SE Sponsored ADR (NASDAQ:BNTX - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 20,988 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,998,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in BNTX. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its holdings in shares of BioNTech by 41.6% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 88,838 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,457,000 after buying an additional 26,119 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP lifted its position in BioNTech by 36.7% during the third quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 205,004 shares of the company's stock valued at $20,217,000 after acquiring an additional 55,004 shares during the last quarter. Long Focus Capital Management LLC lifted its position in BioNTech by 91.3% during the third quarter. Long Focus Capital Management LLC now owns 397,655 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,217,000 after acquiring an additional 189,752 shares during the last quarter. LBP AM SA boosted its stake in BioNTech by 4.3% in 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. boosted its stake in BioNTech by 97.0% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 413,685 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,531,000 after acquiring an additional 203,700 shares in the last quarter. 15.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BNTX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered BioNTech from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 23rd. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on BioNTech from $143.00 to $128.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Berenberg Bank reduced their target price on BioNTech from $155.00 to $140.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Citigroup reduced their target price on BioNTech from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of BioNTech in a research report on Monday, June 1st. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $129.56.

BioNTech Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of BNTX stock opened at $90.54 on Friday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $94.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $98.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 8.74 and a current ratio of 8.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.90 billion, a PE ratio of -15.40 and a beta of 1.32. BioNTech SE Sponsored ADR has a fifty-two week low of $79.52 and a fifty-two week high of $124.00.

BioNTech (NASDAQ:BNTX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Saturday, February 14th. The company reported ($0.39) EPS for the quarter. BioNTech had a negative return on equity of 5.30% and a negative net margin of 44.39%.The company had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter. Equities analysts expect that BioNTech SE Sponsored ADR will post -4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

BioNTech declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 7th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 4.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at BioNTech

In other news, COO Sierk Poetting sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.56, for a total value of $5,528,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 399,387 shares in the company, valued at $44,156,226.72. This represents a 11.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 19.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

BioNTech 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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