What happened
Coronavirus stock BioNTech (BNTX 0.39%) isn't having a good time of it lately. On Wednesday, the company's shares slid yet again, falling by nearly 6% after another coronavirus stock posted good news, and an analyst cut her price target on the biotech's shares.
So what
On Tuesday, fellow COVID vaccine developer Moderna happily announced that the European Medicines Agency (EMA) authorized a third dose of its two-shot mRNA-1273 (brand-named Spikevax) for severely immunocompromised people age 12 and older. That's a big deal, since the EMA covers the sprawling 27-member European Union.
Image source: Getty Images.
And that news came mere days after another BioNTech rival, Merck, reported that in a phase 3 trial, its oral antiviral drug molnupiravir was shown to significantly reduce the risk of hospitalization for the disease.
Compounding these victories for other COVID vaccine and drug developers, BioNTech was also hit by that analyst price target reduction. The prognosticator in question, at SVB Leerink, trimmed her target to $268 per share from the previous $293 while maintaining a market perform (read: hold) on the stock.
It should be noted, however, that the new and reduced price target still gives the biotech's stock potential upside of nearly 15%.
Now what
BioNTech stock is acutely sensitive to developments with other efforts in coronavirus vaccines and drugs because the company remains heavily dependent on the fortunes of its Comirnaty jab, co-developed with Pfizer (PFE +1.65%).
Although rivals are reporting advancements in their business, Comirnaty is still a go-to vaccine throughout the world -- as witnessed by Monday's news that an EMA committee issued a positive opinion on a potential Comirnaty booster. The recent weakness in BioNTech, then, could provide a nice opportunity for investors to buy into the stock.
