A BioNTech SE analyst advised investors to cash in on their profits from the US$30 billion ($40.15 billion) biotech’s recent advance, saying the German company now faces heightened competition from peers that are also developing vaccines.
Approval for the company’s Pfizer Inc.-partnered Covid-19 vaccine is already reflected in the stock’s 268% rally this year, so that now there’s limited room for additional gains despite the two companies’ first-mover advantage, BofA analyst Tazeen Ahmad wrote in a note to clients, downgrading BioNTech to neutral from buy.
“The durability of protection remains a key question for the Covid vaccine market,” Ahmad wrote, highlighting competition from the likes of Moderna Inc., AstraZeneca Plc and Johnson & Johnson, among others.
BioNTech American depositary receipts fell as much as 4.4% in late trading Monday after closing at a record. Earlier in the day, Moderna said it planned to request clearance for its coronavirus vaccine in the US and Europe. The move puts it behind Pfizer and BioNTech, which submitted a filing for their shot to US regulators earlier this month.
