Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Put Options on BioNTech (NASDAQ:BNTX)

Key Points

• Put-option activity surged: Traders purchased 4,317 BioNTech put options, about 119% above the average volume, signaling increased bearish or hedging activity.
• Shares fell while recent results disappointed: BNTX dropped $8.06 to $103.34, and its latest quarterly revenue of $122.31 million and loss of $2.53 per share missed analyst expectations. Revenue declined 59.5% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive overall: Despite one sell downgrade, BioNTech has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $127.81; the company also authorized a $1 billion share buyback.

BioNTech SE Sponsored ADR (NASDAQ:BNTX - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Friday. Traders purchased 4,317 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 119% compared to the average volume of 1,972 put options.

BioNTech Price Performance

Shares of BNTX stock traded down $8.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $103.34. The company had a trading volume of 1,920,945 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,111,615. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 7.85 and a quick ratio of 7.80. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $95.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $95.85. BioNTech has a 52-week low of $79.52 and a 52-week high of $124.00. The company has a market capitalization of $26.13 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.20 and a beta of 1.27.

BioNTech (NASDAQ:BNTX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($2.53) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($2.40) by ($0.13). BioNTech had a negative return on equity of 6.86% and a negative net margin of 63.54%.The firm had revenue of $122.31 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $180.18 million. During the same period last year, the company earned ($1.60) earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 59.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that BioNTech will post -6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of BioNTech from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Berenberg Bank lowered their price objective on shares of BioNTech from $155.00 to $140.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of BioNTech in a report on Monday, June 1st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on BioNTech from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded BioNTech from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $117.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $127.81.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised 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 purchasing an additional 26,119 shares in the last quarter. Monaco Asset Management SAM acquired a new stake in BioNTech in the fourth quarter worth about $1,594,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in BioNTech during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,969,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in shares of BioNTech by 43.0% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,578,094 shares of the company's stock valued at $150,235,000 after purchasing an additional 474,796 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in BioNTech by 22.6% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 903,029 shares of the company's stock worth $80,261,000 after buying an additional 166,432 shares during the last quarter. 15.52% of the stock is currently owned by 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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