On Thursday, Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) adjusted its outlook on shares of BioNTech SE (NASDAQ:BNTX), reducing the price target to $91 from the previous $100, while retaining a Neutral rating on the stock. The move follows BioNTech's fourth-quarter earnings report, which revealed sales of its Comirnaty COVID-19 vaccine did not meet expectations. The firm reported €1.48 billion in sales against the anticipated €1.97 million and €1.84 billion by Goldman Sachs and Visible Alpha Consensus Data, respectively.
BioNTech also revised its revenue forecast for the fiscal year 2024, now projecting total revenues to fall between €2.5 billion and €3.1 billion. This estimate sits approximately 7% below the initial guidance of around €3 billion provided in January. The new forecast midpoint of €2.8 billion is slightly lower than the Goldman Sachs and consensus estimates of €2.7 billion and €3.1 billion, respectively.
The company attributed the downward revision to several factors, including recent data showing vaccination rates in the United States at about 19%, challenges with vaccine pricing in the U.S. market during the fourth quarter, and inventory write-downs. Notably, BioNTech's partner Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) took a charge of around €300 million for inventory write-downs in the fourth quarter.
Goldman Sachs views the revised guidance as a negative development for the future of BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine franchise. Analysts anticipate that consensus estimates will likely decline in the near term due to this update.
Additionally, BioNTech's earnings per share (EPS) for the fourth quarter came in at €1.90, falling short of the Goldman Sachs and consensus projections of €2.47 and €2.33, primarily because of lower-than-expected top-line revenues.
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