Despite BioNTech [NasdaqGS:BNTX] revenue and earnings falling sharply year-over-year, the company still delivered a surprisingly strong quarter relative to expectations with Q3 revenue of EUR3.461 billion coming in well ahead of consensus of EUR 1.928 billion. Given the significant top line above-expectation performance, the company’s Q3 adjusted EPS totalled EUR6.98, more than double that of consensus of EUR3.47.
All in all, looking at the balance sheet, BioNTech SE’s financial health appears good. The drugs giant’s balance sheet neither stood out as being particularly strong or weak relative to its peers however. BioNTech’s management has been effective in improving its cash and cash equivalents metrics, which now sit at $9.3bn. This represents 51.4% change from the last reporting period. Its impressive cash and cash equivalents metrics should support upward pressure on its’s stock price.
Underscoring the ongoing COVID-19 vaccine opportunity, BioNTech announced that it has invoiced approximately 300 million doses of the original/Omicron BA.1- and BA.4/BA.5-adapted bivalent vaccines as of mid-October 2022. In addition, the company raised its 2022 COVID-19 vaccine revenue guidance to €16 – 17 billion versus the previous range of €13 – 17 billion, reflecting the shipment of the Omicron-adapted bivalent vaccine boosters, which started early in September and is expected to continue throughout the fourth quarter of 2022.
“As we move into a post pandemic environment, the experts we speak to are keenly focused on BioNtech’s evolution as the company advances its infectious disease portfolio and oncology pipeline,” said Lee Brown, Global Lead for Healthcare at Third Bridge.
With respect to its infectious disease portfolio, BioNtech initiated a phase 1 study of a combination vaccine candidate that incorporates the Pfizer-BioNTech Omicron BA.4/BA.5-adapted bivalent COVID-19 vaccine and Pfizer’s quadrivalent modified RNA influenza vaccine candidate. The combination vaccine highlights the company’s strategy to include the COVID-19 vaccine into the annual flu vaccination protocol to create a sustained tailwind.
BioNTech has successfully increased its oncology pipeline with three new first-in-human trial starting for BNT116, BNT142, and BNT313. The company also presented positive follow-up data from the Phase 1/2 trial evaluating its novel CAR-T cell therapy candidate, BNT211, in patients with relapsed or refractory solid tumors at ESMO 2022.
BioNTech said this week that revenues for the three months to the end of September were down against last year. This was fairly inevitable; higher expenses have also prompted inventory write-offs, higher production costs and there has also been an increase in headcount to worry about.
We’ve seen some good price momentum in recent days ahead of these numbers. Stock IS up over even a six month period, at +9.97%. Focus should begin to turn away from its Covid vaccine activity onto the huge number of other projects which will lead to more realistic pricing of the stock. We would also anticipate mainstream fund managers to start buying BioNTech shares again for the company’s defensive qualities.
BioNTech for investors:
- Excellent revenue momentum rated in the mid-90s by Deshe Analytics beats out competitors like Amgen and Gilead Sciences
- Stock price momentum has been strengthening in recent days
- Dropping demand for Covid jabs is going to be a risk factor for investors to consider
- Stock unlikely to return to the highs that it was trading at during the pandemic
- Diluted earnings per share down to EUR6.98, well off where it was in Q3 2021
