Aristides Capital LLC Decreases Holdings in BioNTech SE Sponsored ADR $BNTX

Aristides Capital LLC reduced its stake in BioNTech SE Sponsored ADR (NASDAQ:BNTX) by 62.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,000 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,559 shares during the period. Aristides Capital LLC’s holdings in BioNTech were worth $889,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

BioNTech Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BNTX opened at $92.06 on Friday. BioNTech SE Sponsored ADR has a 12 month low of $79.52 and a 12 month high of $124.00. The stock has a market cap of $23.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.66 and a beta of 1.32. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $91.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $97.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 8.80 and a quick ratio of 8.74.

BioNTech (NASDAQ:BNTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The company reported ($2.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $136.71 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $207.42 million. During the same period last year, the company posted ($1.73) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 35.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that BioNTech SE Sponsored ADR will post -5.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BioNTech announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 4.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on BNTX. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on BioNTech from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Berenberg Bank dropped their target price 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. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of BioNTech in a report on Monday, June 1st. UBS Group upgraded BioNTech from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $117.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price objective 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 analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $129.12.

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.