BioNTech Slapped With Downgrade Amid Covid Vaccine Competition

(Bloomberg) -- A BioNTech SE analyst advised investors to cash in on their profits from the $30 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 U.S. and Europe. The move puts it behind Pfizer and BioNTech, which submitted a filing for their shot to U.S. regulators earlier this month.

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