Leonteq Securities AG Invests $2.61 Million in BioNTech SE Sponsored ADR $BNTX

Key Points

• Leonteq Securities AG opened a new position in BioNTech during the fourth quarter, buying 27,427 shares valued at about $2.61 million.
• Several other institutional investors also increased their BioNTech holdings, and hedge funds and institutions now own 15.52% of the company.
• BioNTech recently received mixed analyst coverage, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $130.60, while the company also authorized a $1 billion share buyback.

Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new position in shares of BioNTech SE Sponsored ADR (NASDAQ:BNTX - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 27,427 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,609,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of BioNTech by 86.4% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 274 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of BioNTech by 24.6% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 4,464 shares of the company's stock worth $425,000 after buying an additional 880 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of BioNTech by 30.6% during the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 21,234 shares of the company's stock worth $2,021,000 after buying an additional 4,971 shares during the period. Privium Fund Management B.V. grew its position in shares of BioNTech by 75.3% during the 4th quarter. Privium Fund Management B.V. now owns 33,300 shares of the company's stock worth $3,170,000 after buying an additional 14,300 shares during the period. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of BioNTech by 97.5% during the 4th quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 7,015 shares of the company's stock worth $668,000 after buying an additional 3,464 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 15.52% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of BioNTech in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of BioNTech from $116.00 to $94.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating on shares of BioNTech in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Berenberg Bank lowered their price objective on shares of BioNTech from $155.00 to $140.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of BioNTech in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, BioNTech has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $130.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at BioNTech

In other news, COO Sierk Poetting sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.56, for a total value of $5,528,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 transaction 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 company insiders.

BioNTech Stock Performance

BNTX stock opened at $90.36 on Thursday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $94.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $100.00. The company has a current ratio of 8.80, a quick ratio of 8.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm has a market cap of $22.85 billion, a PE ratio of -15.37 and a beta of 1.36. BioNTech SE Sponsored ADR has a 1-year low of $79.52 and a 1-year high of $124.00.

BioNTech (NASDAQ:BNTX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, February 14th. The company reported ($0.39) earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter. BioNTech had a negative net margin of 44.39% and a negative return on equity of 5.30%. As a group, research analysts forecast that BioNTech SE Sponsored ADR will post -4.71 earnings per share for the current year.

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

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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