Some Asian Investors Ditched Vaccine Stock Just Before It Popped

(Bloomberg) -- This may be a trade to regret.

Asian investors exited BioNTech SE stock at a faster pace than the rest of the world in October, according to a TD Ameritrade Singapore report published Thursday.

While buying activity was similar last month, “TD Ameritrade’s Asia region clients differed a bit more from the total population on the sell side, with popular sells in the region including DAL (Delta Airlines), BNTX (BioNTech) and TWTR (Twitter),” the report said.

BioNTech’s American depositary receipts jumped 14% on Monday on news that a coronavirus vaccine it’s developing with Pfizer Inc. appeared to be effective in preliminary results that sent the entire market into an optimistic frenzy. ADRs of the Mainz, Germany-based company are up 28% in November.

To be sure, there’s still a long way to go before a vaccine is available. It needs deep-freeze technology and there are competitors like Moderna Inc. -- so BioNTech stock could yet prove vulnerable after its strong runup. The ADRs were up 105% in the year through Sept. 30, so anyone selling may have still made a decent profit.

But that November runup is looking pretty formidable. And there could be more than a few investors in Asia looking back on that October sale in dismay.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.