Ugur Sahin Sells 45,000 Shares of BioNTech (NASDAQ:BNTX) Stock

BioNTech SE Sponsored ADR (NASDAQ:BNTX) CEO Ugur Sahin sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.85, for a total transaction of $4,628,250.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 813,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $83,638,545.65. This represents a 5.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Ugur Sahin also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, September 9th, Ugur Sahin sold 36,000 shares of BioNTech stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.78, for a total transaction of $3,520,080.00.
• On Tuesday, September 8th, Ugur Sahin sold 37,000 shares of BioNTech stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.20, for a total transaction of $3,670,400.00.
• On Friday, September 4th, Ugur Sahin sold 31,500 shares of BioNTech stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.52, for a total transaction of $3,260,880.00.

BioNTech Price Performance

Shares of BNTX opened at $98.13 on Thursday. BioNTech SE Sponsored ADR has a twelve month low of $79.52 and a twelve month high of $124.00. The company has a market capitalization of $24.82 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.53 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $97.02 and a 200 day moving average of $95.46. The company has a quick ratio of 7.80, a current ratio of 7.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

BioNTech (NASDAQ:BNTX) last released 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 net margin of 63.54% and a negative return on equity of 6.86%. The business had revenue of $122.31 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $180.18 million. During the same period last year, the company posted ($1.60) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 59.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that BioNTech SE Sponsored ADR will post -6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

More BioNTech News

Here are the key news stories impacting BioNTech this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst views remain broadly favorable despite some disagreement. BioNTech has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $126, above recent trading levels, with several firms maintaining Buy ratings. Analysts Have Conflicting Sentiments on These Healthcare Companies
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Ugur Sahin’s recent transactions were made under pre-arranged trading plans rather than in response to newly disclosed business developments. Institutional ownership also remains present, with several large investors increasing their positions, though institutional investors hold only about 15.5% of the stock. BioNTech SEC Form 4 Filing
• Negative Sentiment: BMO Capital Markets downgraded BioNTech from “outperform” to “market perform” and cut its price target from $128 to $105. The reduced target narrows the perceived upside and is the clearest immediate explanation for the stock’s decline. BioNTech Shares Fall After BMO Downgrade and Price Target Cut
• Negative Sentiment: Sahin sold a combined 149,500 shares from September 3 through September 9 for approximately $15.1 million, reducing his holdings in successive transactions. Although the trades were planned in advance, repeated CEO selling can create an overhang and reinforce cautious investor sentiment. BioNTech CEO Insider Selling

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of BioNTech by 86.4% in the fourth 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. EFG International AG purchased a new stake in BioNTech in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new stake in BioNTech during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in BioNTech by 118.2% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 563 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares during the period. 15.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on BNTX. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on BioNTech from $126.00 to $119.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of BioNTech from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. UBS Group upgraded shares of BioNTech from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $117.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of BioNTech in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of BioNTech from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, BioNTech has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $126.00.

About BioNTech

BioNTech SE is a biotechnology company focused on developing immunotherapies and vaccines for cancer and other serious diseases. Its research platforms include messenger RNA, cell therapies, protein-based therapeutics, antibody therapies and small-molecule immunomodulators.

The company is best known for Comirnaty, its COVID-19 vaccine developed and commercialized globally in collaboration with Pfizer. BioNTech is also advancing a broad oncology pipeline that includes individualized and off-the-shelf cancer vaccines, antibody-based treatments, cell therapies and combination approaches designed to stimulate or direct the immune system against tumors.

BioNTech was founded in 2008 and is headquartered in Mainz, Germany.