Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Makes New $6.91 Million Investment in BioNTech SE Sponsored ADR $BNTX

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group disclosed a new stake in BioNTech, buying 77,694 shares valued at about $6.91 million in the first quarter.
• BioNTech has seen mixed analyst sentiment, but the overall view is still “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $129.12; UBS upgraded the stock to buy while some firms trimmed targets.
• The company’s latest results showed better-than-expected EPS but weaker revenue, and BioNTech also authorized a $1 billion share repurchase program covering up to 4.2% of its stock.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of BioNTech SE Sponsored ADR (NASDAQ:BNTX - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 77,694 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,905,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BNTX. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in BioNTech by 86.4% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 274 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. EFG International AG purchased a new stake in BioNTech in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in BioNTech by 520.0% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 310 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in shares of BioNTech by 118.2% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 563 shares of the company's stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vestcor Inc bought a new position in shares of BioNTech during the 4th quarter valued at about $153,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 15.52% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on BNTX shares. Truist Financial raised BioNTech to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. UBS Group raised BioNTech from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $117.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on BioNTech from $126.00 to $119.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of BioNTech in a report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their target price on BioNTech from $171.00 to $158.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $129.12.

Insider Activity at BioNTech

In other news, COO Sierk Poetting sold 50,000 shares of BioNTech stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 399,387 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,156,226.72. The trade was a 11.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 19.20% of the company's stock.

BioNTech Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ BNTX opened at $90.40 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 8.80, a quick ratio of 8.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. BioNTech SE Sponsored ADR has a 12-month low of $79.52 and a 12-month high of $124.00. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $91.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $97.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.37 and a beta of 1.32.

BioNTech (NASDAQ:BNTX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The company reported ($2.26) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $207.42 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($1.73) earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 35.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that BioNTech SE Sponsored ADR will post -5.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BioNTech announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 7th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 4.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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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