Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Makes New $39.38 Million Investment in BioNTech SE Sponsored ADR $BNTX

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management initiated a BioNTech position worth approximately $39.4 million, buying 423,263 shares and acquiring about 0.17% of the company.
• Several other institutions increased or initiated holdings, while institutional investors collectively owned 15.52% of BioNTech. The company also authorized a $1 billion share-repurchase program, covering up to 4.2% of shares.
• BioNTech shares were trading at $93.67, while analysts maintained an overall “Moderate Buy” rating with an average price target of $127.81, despite several recent target-price reductions and one downgrade to “Sell.”

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in BioNTech SE Sponsored ADR (NASDAQ:BNTX - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 423,263 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $39,385,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.17% of BioNTech as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BNTX. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in BioNTech by 22.6% in 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 in the last quarter. Amundi raised its stake in shares of BioNTech by 24.5% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 129,513 shares of the company's stock worth $11,511,000 after purchasing an additional 25,506 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in shares of BioNTech by 15.5% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 46,991 shares of the company's stock worth $4,177,000 after purchasing an additional 6,308 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new position in shares of BioNTech during the first quarter valued at $499,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. bought a new position in shares of BioNTech during the first quarter valued at $220,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 15.52% of the company's stock.

BioNTech Trading Up 2.7%

BNTX stock opened at $93.67 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $91.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $96.93. BioNTech SE Sponsored ADR has a fifty-two week low of $79.52 and a fifty-two week high of $124.00. The firm has a market cap of $23.69 billion, a PE ratio of -11.96 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 8.74 and a current ratio of 7.85.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BNTX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered BioNTech from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on BioNTech from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Citigroup cut their price objective on BioNTech from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of BioNTech in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Berenberg Bank lowered their price target on shares of BioNTech from $155.00 to $140.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, BioNTech has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $127.81.

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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