Candriam S.C.A. Reduces Stock Position in BioNTech SE Sponsored ADR $BNTX

Candriam S.C.A. decreased its position in BioNTech SE Sponsored ADR (NASDAQ:BNTX) by 19.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 488,367 shares of the company’s stock after selling 116,549 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in BioNTech were worth $43,406,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of BioNTech during the 1st quarter worth about $6,905,000. Quantum Portfolio Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of BioNTech in the first quarter valued at approximately $203,000. USS Investment Management Ltd raised its position in shares of BioNTech by 1.2% in the first quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd now owns 32,577 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,854,000 after buying an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its stake in shares of BioNTech by 48.4% during the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 131,798 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,236,000 after buying an additional 42,960 shares during the period. Finally, Ground Swell Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of BioNTech during the first quarter valued at approximately $258,000. 15.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BioNTech Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of NASDAQ BNTX opened at $91.49 on Friday. BioNTech SE Sponsored ADR has a 52-week low of $79.52 and a 52-week high of $124.00. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $91.86 and a 200-day moving average of $97.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.14 billion, a PE ratio of -15.56 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a quick ratio of 8.74, a current ratio of 8.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

BioNTech (NASDAQ:BNTX) last issued its earnings results on Saturday, February 14th. The company reported ($0.39) earnings per share for the quarter. BioNTech had a negative return on equity of 5.30% and a negative net margin of 44.39%.The firm had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter. On average, analysts anticipate that BioNTech SE Sponsored ADR will post -5.67 EPS for the current year.

BioNTech declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 7th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 4.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at BioNTech

In other BioNTech 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 transaction of $5,528,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 19.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on BNTX shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of BioNTech from $126.00 to $119.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of BioNTech in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered BioNTech from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating on shares of BioNTech in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Berenberg Bank dropped their target price on BioNTech from $155.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $129.12.

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.