By Andrew Bary
Covid vaccine maker BioNTech looks like a cheap biotechnology play after its shares got hammered last week on news that its co-founders plan to leave the cash-rich German company by the end of 2026.
BioNTech's U.S.-listed shares (ticker BNTX), now around $91.50, are off about 10% since March 10, when the compan y reported fourth-quarter earnings and said that founders Ugur Sahin (the current CEO) and Özlem Tü reci plan to depart with no new CEO named.
The investment story with BioNTech is simple. The company's cash and securities nearly equal its market value, meaning investors aren't paying much for the Covid franchise and a pipeline that is focused on cancer treatments. It's possible that BioNTech also could attract takeover interest.
The company developed the messenger RNA technology that is the basis for the Pfizer Covid vaccine, and the two companies are partners in that vaccine. BioNTech stock peaked at nearly $500 in 2021 at the peak of the Covid investor enthusiasm.
BioNTech was sitting on nearly $20 billion of cash and securities at the end of 2025, against a market value of around $23 billion, Barron's calculates based on company disclosures. That means investors are getting the rest of the company for relatively little at a time when biotech stocks are back in favor, and Moderna, the other Covid vaccine maker, has seen its shares rise about 80% this year.
BioNTech shares are down about 8% over the past year while the State Street SPDR S&P Biotech ETF has risen 42%.
The decision of the two co-founders to leave BioNTech to form a new company using messenger RNA technology was a negative for the stock and raises questions about their outlook for the company and its drug pipeline.
After the news, Morgan Stanley analyst Terence Flynn wrote that the leadership move "overshadowed" the fourth-quarter results but that he viewed the shares as "undervalued" ahead of a number of readouts on the BioNTech pipeline, including a cancer drug in development called Pumitamig targeting lung cancer and other cancers. Flynnn has an Overweight rating and price target of $125.
That cancer drug originated by BioNTech got a partner in Bristol Myers Squibb last year in a vote of confidence.
"While we understand jitters surrounding leadership changes, BioNTech has evolved to a point where the pipeline has multiple phase 3 opportunities ahead along with a transition to commercial stage," wrote Citi analyst Geoff Meacham. He has a Buy rating and $130 price target.
Unlike many biotechs, BioNTech has sizable revenues and isn't burning a lot of cash. The company guided to about $2.5 billion in revenues this year, down from over $3 billion in 2025 due to weaker anticipated Covid vaccine sales. The 2026 revenue guidance was more than 15% below expectations. The company generated over $20 billion in revenues and more than $45 a share in earnings in 2021 -- when Covid vaccine revenues peaked.
BioNTech is expected to lose about $4 a share this year or around $1 billion, but that shouldn't deplete its cash reserves by much. During 2025, it burned little cash despite about $5 a share in losses due to the benefit of depreciation expense and interest on its cash reserves. The company is likely to spend over $2.5 billion this year on research and development to develop drugs and advance its pipeline.
There is a risk that the company spends a chunk of cash on a dilutive acquisition but BioNTech is upbeat on its pipeline, suggesting that danger isn't high.
In the earnings release, CEO Sahin expressed optimism, saying in a statement: "With our unique pipeline and strong financial position, we remain committed to leveraging our pioneering position in the immuno-oncology space with next-generation agents designed to elevate outcomes for patients with cancer."
"2026 is poised to be a pivotal year with multiple readouts expected across our portfolio, representing a significant step toward our objective of becoming a multi-product company by 2030," he continued.
With its ample cash position, BioNTech seems like an inexpensive bet on that pipeline even with the founders leaving the scene.
Write to Andrew Bary at andrew.bary@barrons.com
This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 16, 2026 16:03 ET (20:03 GMT)
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