By Mackenzie Tatananni
BioNTech's future rests entirely on the success of its pipeline, now that its pandemic-era glory days are firmly in the rearview mirror. Wall Street is betting the company's next act in oncology will be worth the wait.
UBS analyst David Dai moved off the sidelines Wednesday as he upgraded BioNTech stock to Buy from Neutral with a $135 price target, up from $117. Shares jumped 2.5% to $94.58, outperforming the broader market as the S&P 500 traded flat.
BioNTech's recent rough patch began in March, when the German drugmaker swung to a quarterly loss and announced the departure of co-founders Ugur Sahin and Ozlem Tureci, a married couple serving as CEO and chief medical officer, respectively. Sahin and Tureci are set to exit by the end of the year.
There's more to the story. At the height of the pandemic, BioNTech was a name to watch. Alongside Pfizer, the biotech developed the first U.S.-approved Covid-19 vaccine, giving it an early lead in a booming market.
But BioNTech, like Pfizer and Moderna, has grappled with steadily declining Covid revenue. Shares have also buckled under regulatory scrutiny of the mRNA technology behind many of BioNTech's investigational immunotherapies.
But Dai is focused on a different set of assets: BioNTech's oncology portfolio. He based the upgrade on an "increasing conviction" in a rising class of cancer medication that simultaneously targets immune evasion and blood supply, two pathways crucial to tumor persistence.
This class of bispecific antibodies -- called PD-L1 x VEGF and PD-1 x VEGF -- could serve as "a transformative modality in solid tumors," Dai wrote. "Early data across the class suggest improved efficacy and tolerability, supporting potential for broad adoption across solid tumors," he added.
In addition, pumitamig, arguably the cornerstone of BioNTech's oncology portfolio, is undergoing clinical trials to test its efficacy in patients with non-small cell lung cancer. The drug was developed by China-based Biotheus before BioNTech acquired it in 2024 and subsequently teamed up with Bristol Myers Squibb.
Early data from China showed "robust efficacy signals," Dai noted. Perhaps more importantly, global data appear to replicate those early findings, proving to nervous investors that the results weren't just a one-time fluke in a single country.
Ahead of an appearance at ASCO 2026, the world's largest oncology conference, BioNTech shared what it called "the third global data set to consistently show encouraging anti-tumor activity for pumitamig in combination with chemotherapy."
Upcoming data should provide a near-term catalyst, Dai says. In his view, the market currently undervalues the drugmaker's oncology portfolio. Pumitamig is particularly well-positioned, with massive potential in triple-negative breast and colorectal cancers, he added.
Shares have slipped into the red this year. Counting Wednesday's gains, BioNTech's American depositary receipts are down less than a percent in 2026 against a 10% gain for the S&P 500.
Those losses have been magnified over the past several months. Based on Tuesday's closing level, BioNTech has fallen nearly 10% since March, when its earnings report triggered a severe drop in the share price. The benchmark index has moved higher over the same period.
However, Dai says the stock is nearing a so-called value inflection, "as the oncology narrative transitions from skepticism to execution."
He isn't the only cheerleader: of 22 analysts tracked by FactSet, 16 rate BioNtech at Buy. The remaining six rate it at Hold.
If Dai is correct, BioNTech's cancer pipeline could be exactly what the drugmaker needs to turn the page and finally jump-start its stock.
Write to Mackenzie Tatananni at mackenzie.tatananni@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
May 27, 2026 11:07 ET (15:07 GMT)
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