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Disney’s Strong Q3 Results, Subscriber Growth at Disney+ Driven by Hotstar

third quarter as revenue and EBITDA came in well ahead of expectations. Disney+ added 12.4 million customers to end the quarter at 116 million subscribers due in part to the return of cricket, still below the 21 million added in the fiscal first quarter but well ahead the 8 million in the second quarter.

The FVE is raised to $170 from $154 due to the lower-than expected streaming losses and stronger subscriber growth. Revenue for quarter has increased by 45% over years to $17 billion. While the ongoing pandemic creates near-term uncertainty, relatively strong consumer demand and the continued growth in bookings remain encouraging signs for a return to long-term growth.

Revenue for the media and entertainment distribution division improved by 18% to $12.7 billion as the growth at direct-to-consumer services and linear networks more than offset the continued declines at the content sales/licensing segment.

Financial Strengths

Revenue for the media and entertainment distribution division improved by 18% to $12.7 billion as the growth at direct-to-consumer services and linear networks more than offset the continued declines at the content sales/licensing segment. Revenue at the DTC segment jumped up by 57% to $4.3 billion. Disney+ ended the quarter with 116 million paid subscribers, up from 103.6 million at the end of last quarter. Subscriber growth was driven by additional country launches and continued growth for Disney+ Hotstar. Hotstar subscribers now represent a little fewer than 40% of the Disney+ subscriber base, versus one third last quarter, which implies that most of the new subscribers came from the Asian platform.

Company Profile

The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) owns the rights to some of the most globally recognized characters, from Mickey Mouse to Luke Skywalker. These characters and others are featured in several Disney theme parks around the world. Disney makes live-action and animated films under studios such as Pixar, Marvel, and Lucasfilms and also operates media networks including ESPN and several TV production studios. Disney recently reorganized into four segments with one new segment: direct-to-consumer and international. The new segment includes the two announced OTT offerings, ESPN+ and the Disney SVOD service. The plan also combines two segments, parks and resorts and consumer products, into one. The media networks group contains the U.S. cable channels and ABC. The studio segment holds the movie production assets.

(Source: Morningstar)

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GTA Continues to Deliver For Take-Two; Raising FVE to $200

the larger third-party video game publishers and owns one of the largest most well-known video game franchises in Grand Theft Auto (GTA). The firm is well positioned not only to capitalize on the success of Grand Theft Auto, but also to continue diversifying its revenue beyond its signature franchise. It is expected Take-Two to continue to benefit from the high demand for consoles, the ongoing revitalization of PC gaming, and the growth of mobile gaming.

Take-Two generally focuses on the higher end, using both its capital to fund the higher-budget blockbusters and its marketing advantage over independents in terms of both budget and established networks to support its titles. The new fair value estimate of $200 per share implies a fiscal 2022 price/earnings of 42, enterprise value/adjusted EBITDA multiple of approximately 27, and free cash flow yield of approximately 3%.

Take-Two introduced a separate multiplayer mode, GTA Online, with the launch of GTA V in 2013. The mode has helped this installment sell over 145 million units by expanding its life cycle and monetization. As a result, GTA V will be launched onto its third generation of consoles in November 2021, likely pushing the potential launch of GTA VI even further out.

Financial Strength

Take-Two is in very good financial health. As of March 2020, Take-Two had over $1.3 billion of cash on hand and carried approximately no debt, a conservative capital structure for a company that generated over $540 million in free cash flow in fiscal 2020. The more consistent free cash flow generation is due in part to management’s efforts to diversify and expand its release slate as well as “GTA Online” expanding the lifecycle and monetization of “Grand Theft Auto V” with free DLC and micro transactions. It is expected that the firm will continue to reinvest its cash into developing new franchises and into R&D for video game engines and video game specific technologies. We also project that the firm will continue to make acquisitions, specifically within mobile and PC game development. 

Bull Says

  • Take-Two has established newer large franchises, such as “Borderlands,” while revitalizing older ones, such as “Xcom.”
  • “Grand Theft Auto” is one of the largest and best known video game franchises, with more than 345 million units sold over its life.
  • The introduction of “GTA Online” in “Grand Theft Auto V” enabled the firm to monetize the game beyond the initial sale.

Company Profile

Found in 1993, Take-Two Interactive Software Inc (NASDAQ: TTWO) consists of two wholly owned labels, Rockstar Games and 2K. The firm is one of the world’s largest independent video game publishers on consoles, PCs, smart phones, and tablets. Take-Two’s franchise portfolio is headlined by “Grand Theft Auto” (GTA) (345 million units sold) and contains other well-known titles such as “NBA 2K,” “Civilization,” “Borderlands,” “Bios hock,” and “Xcom.”

 (Source: Morningstar)

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Shares of Pilgrim’s Go Hog Wild on Takeout Proposal from JBS but Still Offers Upside

 José Batista Sobrinho (JBS) seeks to simplify its corporate structure by delisting Pilgrim’s as a public company, allowing for a reduction in administrative expenses and an increase in operational flexibility. The proposal equates to an $8.4 billion enterprise value, 6.3 times our 2022 EBITDA estimate and 6.5 times. However, it is a light offer, particularly when compared against the 9.1 times Sanderson Farms agreed to be purchased earlier this week by Cargill and Continental Grain Company. 

Shares of Pilgrim’s popped more than 20% on the news to above $27, suggesting investors also think there could be upside to the offering. The proposal now stands to be reviewed by a special committee of Pilgrim’s board of directors and, if approved, would need to be supported by a majority of Pilgrim’s shareholders excluding JBS, which should take several months to conclude.

There are three potential outcomes, 1) Pilgrim’s board could negotiate a higher price (we see this as the most likely scenario as our $32 intrinsic value suggests 17% upside), 2) the $26.50 deal could be accepted (causing the stock to move 3% lower), or 3) a deal cannot be reached, putting the stock at risk of gravitating towards its pre-offer price of $22.68 (17% lower). 

Although shares of Pilgrim still trade at a mid-teens discount to our fair value estimate, we also continue to view no-moat Conagra and wide-moat Kellogg as attractive investment options, trading 20% below our assessments of intrinsic value.

Company Profile 

Pilgrim’s Pride Corp (NASDAQ: PPC) is the second-largest poultry producer in the U.S. (62% of 2020 sales), Europe (27%), and Mexico (11%). The 2019 purchase of Tulip, the U.K.’s largest hog producer, marks the firm’s entrance into the pork market, which represented 11% of 2020 sales. Pilgrim’s sells its protein to chain restaurants, food processors, and retail chains under brand names Pilgrim’s, Country Pride, Gold’n Plump, and Just Bare. Channel exposure is split evenly between retail and food service, with the majority of food-service revenue coming from quick-service restaurants. JBS owns 80% of Pilgrim’s outstanding shares.

 (Source: Morningstar)

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Global stocks

GEA’s Full Q2 Results Reinforce Margin Recovery Story

indicated a continued margin recovery including gross margin expansion. It maintains EUR 35.00 fair value estimate and wide moat rating. Orders and revenue grew organically by 30.00% and 3.00%, respectively. The strong order growth relative to order execution within the quarter, led to a book/bill well above 1.00 times at 1.12, showing solid demand momentum. 

Demand also compared favorably with pre coronavirus levels; first-half 2021 orders were up by 10.00% over first half 2019. EBITDA before restructuring growth of 9.00% outpaced revenue growth due to margin expansion. EBITDA before restructuring margin expanded by 120 basis points to 13.30% year over year. Encouragingly, gross margins improved across all the divisions. However, the largest contributor to earnings growth was the company’s moaty separation and flow technology division. 

The products in this division include separators and centrifuges, where we believe GEA Group, Alfa Laval and SPX Flow dominate the premium market. The division’s EBITDA margin, which is above group level, expanded to 23.80% from 20.40% in the second quarter, boosted by better gross margins on new equipment sales.

Company Profile

GEA Group AG (ETR: G1A) is an expert in food processing. It manufactures equipment for separation, fluid handling, dairy processing, and dairy farming, and designs and constructs process lines or entire plants for customers. Based in Germany, the company is a global market leader, with number-one or number-two positions in its markets. Its separators are used in hundreds of different, tailored applications. Every fourth liter of milk, third instant coffee line, third chicken nugget, and second litre of beer globally is processed using the company’s specialized equipment.

 (Source: Morningstar)

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Dish Network’s Wireless Efforts Ramp up as the Television Business Churns out Cash during Q2

planned within the next 60 days, and construction ramps up in 30 other markets across the country. The television business continues to pump out cash, funding wireless spending with enough left over to build cash on the balance sheet.

The wholesale agreement Dish signed with AT&T was the biggest development of the past quarter. Dish remains at odds with T-Mobile, calling the firm a “sore winner” looking to steal back Boost customers with the CDMA network shutdown and aggressive 5G phone offers. Most new Dish/

Boost wireless customers will use the AT&T network going forward. The options tied to this relationship are more intriguing than the wholesale arrangement. Notably, the two firms hold complementary spectrum positions and have a shared interest in the licenses currently used to provide satellite television service. Dish and AT&T also have an opportunity to collaborate in the enterprise services market.

Dish ended the quarter with $4.8 billion on hand, up from $3.7 billion at the start of the year, enough to fund debt maturities until late 2024 with more than $1 billion to spare. Reported debt outstanding increased to $16.2 billion from $15.7 billion at the end of 2020 solely because of the accounting treatment of convertible debt already outstanding.

Company’s Future Outlook

It is expected that Dish’s television business will decline at an accelerating pace over the next several quarters. The firm has done a great job of dropping certain content, notably regional sports networks, to cut costs and offer more attractive prices, but believe there are limits to how far it can take that strategy. Dish is currently negotiating with Sinclair for carriage of more than 100 local broadcast networks, but Sinclair has indicated that it doesn’t expect to reach an agreement before the existing agreement expires on Aug. 16. Dish will face increasingly difficult decisions on which content to carry, forcing it to choose between losing customers at a faster clip or giving back the margin gains it has made in recent years.

Company profile

From its founding in the 1980s Dish Network’s (NASDAQ: DISH) has primarily focused on the satellite television business, capitalizing on technological advancements to expand its reach. The firm now serves 9 million U.S. customers via its network of owned and leased satellites. Dish launched an Internet-based television offering under the Sling brand in 2015 and now serves about 2.5 million customers on this platform. Dish’s future, however, hinges primarily on the wireless business. The firm has amassed a large portfolio of spectrum licenses over the past decade, spending more than $22 billion in the process, and is now building a nationwide wireless network. It acquired Sprint’s prepaid business, serving about 9 million customers, as the entry point into the wireless retail market.

(Source: Morningstar)

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2021 Testing Mettle of Treehouse Food New Commercial Capabilities, but Management Staying the Course

Still, revamped leadership, strategy, and recent activist involvement have mostly remedied internal issues, and we believe private label should continue to ascend, supported by secular trends across the U.S. retail and demographic landscape. Management has reoriented the business strategy to align more with market dynamics instead of product categories. For categories that are either in early or mature stages of growth (snacking and beverages), the team is looking to grow the top line profitably through volume leverage and value-added innovation.

Portfolio optimization is also a core strategy pillar, and it has rationalized many underperforming areas of the assortment. It has also divested secularly challenged business lines like nuts and ready-to-eat cereal. The outlook for Treehouse is still murky, as it remains beleaguered by competition and at the mercy of a consolidated customer base that wield disproportionate influence during times of volatility (like the current industrywide commodity and logistics inflation). Still, we expect its strategy to lead to a largely stable core business, which, along with new growth vectors (like co-packing), should allow it to navigate the environment.

Financial Strength

Treehouse’s financial health looks reasonable to us, though it does leave a bit to be desired. The company has leveraged up meaningfully in the past to fund acquisitions (like Flagstone in 2014 and Ralcorp in 2016), constraining its ability in recent years to make value accretive investments. Nevertheless, leverage is no longer at obscene levels (it sits below 3.5 times EBITDA today on an internally calculated basis), and the firm remaining in the 3-3.5 times range in the medium term. As management continues work to divest assets (it recently completed the RTE cereal business sale, and we wouldn’t be surprised to see more portfolio grooming), even more cash should be available for debt paydown. Treehouse generates a good bit of free cash flow, averaging in the mid-single-digit range as a percent of sales in recent years.

Treehouse also has other cash flow levers, including its receivables sales program, whereby it monetizes its receivables more quickly in partnership with a financial intermediary. The company is still responsible for administering and collecting the receivables, but net-net, this program will continue to reduce its working capital funding needs during any given period. The firm’s debt covenants are fairly restrictive. Most of the debt is secured, and maximum allowable leverage is 4.5 times. Some of its notes also inhibit dividend payments.

Bulls Say’s 

  • The private label industry should continue to benefit from secular trends across the grocery retail landscape and demographic trends in the U.S.
  • If the coronavirus induces prolonged recessionary conditions in the U.S., private label will likely outperform, and Treehouse would benefit disproportionately as a market leader.
  • Its massive manufacturing apparatus should allow the company to benefit from the secular shift toward small, niche brands, by way of co-packing arrangements.

Company Profile 

Treehouse Foods, the largest private label manufacturer in the U.S., is the product of a slew of acquisitions, the most significant being the 2016 acquisition of Ralcorp, Conagra’s former private brands business. The firm plays in over 25 categories, including snacks like pretzels and cookies, meals like pasta and dry dinners, and single-serve beverages like pods and ready-to-drink coffee. Retailers represent its most significant end-market, where it sells products for resale under retailer brands, but it also serves foodservice customers (providing a similar service as its retail business), industrial (selling bulk food for repackaging and repurposing), and branded consumer goods firms (under co-packing arrangements). Over 90% of its revenue comes from the U.S.

(Source: Morningstar)

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Any advice/ information provided is general in nature only and does not take into account the personal financial situation, objectives or needs of any particular person.

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Rapid Deployment of Ships Set Buoying Royal Caribbean Outlook for Positive Profitability in Early 2022

 while COVID-19 remains pervasive. With a return to sail underway, cruise operators are now utilzing updated health protocols to ensure the safety of cruising as paying customers return onboard. As virus mitigation tactics prove successful, we expect Royal to see modest pricing gains as it digests bookings paid for with future cruise credits, limiting near-term yield gains. On the cost side, stringent health protocols and cruise resumption costs should inflate spending, factors that will aggravate profitability through 2022.

Royal took quick action to reduce operating expenses and capital expenditures as a result of the coronavirus (we forecast capital expenditures of $2.2 billion in 2021, down from $3 billion in prepandemic 2019). Also, since the beginning of the pandemic, the firm accessed around $13 billion to enhance its liquidity cushion. Further, as of June 30, $2.4 billion in customer deposits were still available for use. Although we believe Royal’s cash burn should remain between $300 million-$350 million a month (as it restaff the fleet), it should be able to navigate a graduated return to sailing over the next six months. While Royal is set to return to positive profitability over the next year, the prior 20>25 by 2025 target (EPS to $20 by 2025) is virtually impossible to reach as a result of secular changes in demand due to COVID-19.

Financial Strength 

Royal has taken numerous steps to ensure it remains a going concern after COVID-19. In March 2020, Royal noted it was taking actions to reduce operating expenses and capital expenditures by the tune of $1.7 billion to improve liquidity. Additionally, since the beginning of the pandemic, the firm secured around $13 billion in liquidity through various debt and equity issuances (resulting in our estimate for $1.1 billion in debt service costs in 2021, up from around $400 million in 2019). 

Furthermore, as of June 30, $2.4 billion in customer deposits were still available for use, although industry commentary suggests about half of canceled bookings have been refunded in cash rather than future cruise credits during the pandemic. And in April 2020, Royal announced it was laying off or furloughing more than 25% of its 5,000 shoreside employees. The cash burn for Royal every month while restaffing and redeployng its ships should be between $300 million-$350 million.

Bulls Say’s 

  • If COVID-19’s delta variant recedes quickly, yields could recover faster than we currently anticipate.
  • Lower fuel prices could help benefit the cost structure to a greater degree than initially expected, thanks to Royal’s floating energy prices (with only about 50% of fuel costs historically hedged).
  • The nascent Asia-Pacific market should remain promising post-COVID-19, as the four largest operators previously had capacity for nearly 4 million passengers at the beginning of 2020, which provides an opportunity for long-term growth with a new consumer when cruising fully resumes.

Company Profile 

Royal Caribbean is the world’s second-largest cruise company, operating 60 ships across five global and partner brands in the cruise vacation industry. Brands the company operates include Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, and Silversea. The company also has a 50% investment in a joint venture that operates TUI Cruises and Hapag-Lloyd Cruises, allowing it to compete on the basis of innovation, quality of ships and service, variety of itineraries, choice of destinations, and price. The company is completed the divestiture of its Azamara brand in the first quarter of 2021.

(Source: Morningstar)

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Monster Beverage Glass Is Half-Full as Its Tremendous Commercial Success Is Offset by Inflation Headwinds

 Monster continues to extract outsize growth and stella profitability from this market. Crucial to Monster’s positioning in the market is its partnership with Coca-Cola. Being able to rely on the widest moat in beverages for distribution, merchandising, and retailer negotiation reinforces and perpetuates the benefits of its resonant brand, in our view. With its entire U.S. footprint and most international territories fully incorporated into the Coke system, strategic and logistic planning should become more seamless, allowing products to be scaled more quickly, particularly in international markets (over 35% of sales). Despite the inevitable complexity of appealing to distinct local palates, we believe Monster’s continued geographic diversification should augment its positioning.

Given the importance of the Coke relationship, the launch of Coke Energy products following arbitration between the two parties was a significant development. Still, it has proved to be far from an existential threat, garnering trivial share in the markets where it launched (and recently discontinued in the U.S.). In addition to a seemingly more tenuous Coke relationship, Monster must contend with an intense competitive environment. While Red Bull remains the most formidable rival, Monster is also beleaguered by a number of both established and upstart firms looking to carve out niches in the energy space. Nevertheless, structural advantages and an experienced management team should allow the firm to navigate an evolving competitive landscape.

Financial Strength 

Moreover, the business churns out healthy free cash flow, with over $1.1 billion generated on average over the past three years (high-20s as a percentage of sales). The company’s free cash flow has historically supported persistent share repurchases, and the company’s ability to continue buying back shares amid market disruptions like the coronavirus pandemic is a poignant illustration of its financial health, in our view. As of June 2021, Monster had over $1.5 billion in cash and short-term investments on its balance sheet, with no long-term debt to speak of. 

Still, general liquidity is not a concern. In addition to its healthy cash balance and an untapped revolver, Monster has implemented certain nontraditional means of financing, such as a working capital line of credit that is similar to an interest-bearing liability but not treated as leverage for accounting purposes. 

Bulls Say’s

  • Monster is a leading pure-play incumbent in a secularly advantaged beverage category that is growing in the high single digits, meaningfully above the broader industry average (low single digits).
  • Monster’s strategic partnership with Coca-Cola aligns its fortunes with the widest moat in nonalcoholic beverages, affording it top-tier store positioning and merchandising.
  • International expansion through Coke’s bottlingsystem offers material runway for growth.

Company Profile

Monster Beverage is a leader in the energy drink subsegment of the beverage industry. The Monster trademark anchors its portfolio, and notable offerings include Monster Energy and Monster Ultra. The firm has also started to incubate new trademarks for emerging enclaves of the energy space, like Reign in performance energy. It is primarily a brand owner, outsourcing most of its manufacturing processes to third-party copackers. It primarily uses the Coca-Cola bottling system for distribution after a strategic agreement in which Coke became Monster’s largest shareholder (roughly 19%) and that also included the exchange of certain businesses between the two firms. Most of Monster’s revenue is generated in the United States, though international geographies are increasing in the mix.

(Source: Morningstar)

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Any advice/ information provided is general in nature only and does not take into account the personal financial situation, objectives or needs of any particular person.

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Global stocks

Softbank Group Reports Solid Quarter of Vision Fund Growth

as expected with the company reporting strong performance from the Vision Fund in line with stock market rises and generally strong recent IPOs.

Softbank fair value estimate of JPY 9200 is mainly due to a 4% downgrade in our valuation for Alibaba following its June quarter result, offset by increased valuation for Vision Fund 2 in line with valuation improvement over the quarter. The stock price is now below our fair value estimate with the main difference likely to be due to our valuation of Alibaba which is around 55% above the current stock price.

The Vision Funds and Latin America Fund held 221 investments at the end of June 2021. SFV1 reported a net realized gain of JPY 310 billion due mainly to selling some shares in Door Dash, Uber, and Guardant Health. The net unrealized gain of JPY 3.5 billion was much lower with strong share price performances of DiDi and Door Dash partially offset by weaker share price performance of some listed portfolio companies, particularly Coupang. In terms of sectors, the investments are also well diversified with 28% in consumer, 20% in transportation, 17% in logistics, and 10% in frontier tech 10%, 7% in proptech, 7% in fintech, and 3% in health tech.

Company’s Future Outlook

Softbank’s 40.2%-owned domestic telecom business, Softbank Corp, reported a fourth-quarter result in line with our estimates with revenue increasing by 0.7%, operating income increasing by 4.1% and net profit down 0.8%. Management estimated the first-quarter mobile price cuts negatively impacted the first quarter by around JPY 10 billion with a JPY 70 billion impact factored into unchanged full-year fiscal 2021 guidance for revenue of JPY 5.5 trillion (5.7% growth), operating income of JPY 975 billion (0.4% growth), and net income of JPY 500 billion (1.8% growth). A further price cut has been introduced for low end customers in July which looks likely to continue to put pressure on mobile pricing. The fair value estimated of JPY 1450 per share which is slightly below where the stock is trading.

Company Profile

Softbank Group Corporation’s (JPY: 9984)  is a Japan-based telecom and e-commerce conglomerate that has expanded mainly through acquisitions, and its key assets include a 28% stake in Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba and a 40% owned mobile and fixed broadband telecom operator business in Japan. It also owns 75% of semiconductor chip designer ARM Holdings although has agreed to sell this and is waiting on regulatory approvals, and has a vast portfolio of mainly Internet- and e-commerce-focused early stage investments. It is also general partner of the $100 billion Softbank Vision Fund 1 and sole investor in Softbank Vision Fund 2, both of which primarily invest in pre-IPO Internet companies.

(Source: Morningstar)

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Any advice/ information provided is general in nature only and does not take into account the personal financial situation, objectives or needs of any particular person.

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Raising Our BioNTech (BNTX: NASDAQ) FVE to $172 Following Q2 Update; Forthcoming Oncology Data Could Add Upside

The emerging biotech’s first commercial vaccine, for COVID-19, received its first authorization in December 2020, and its early-stage pipeline and mRNA technology platforms have caught the eye of several large pharmaceutical companies, resulting in collaborations and partnerships. BioNTech’s internal discovery platform is focused on mRNA, including off-the-shelf and personalized mRNA drugs, but opportunistic acquisitions have brought in targeted antibodies and cell therapies as well. As such, BioNTech is not overly reliant on any one key drug candidate or drug class at this point, and it is poised to tackle cancer via many different mechanisms.

Further, the company has a burgeoning vaccine pipeline for infectious diseases. In partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, BioNTech is developing vaccines for HIV and tuberculosis, and the company’s COVID-19 program in partnership with Pfizer and Fosun Pharma was built off an existing partnership with Pfizer for an influenza vaccine. The COVID-19 vaccine, Comirnaty (BNT162b2), quickly progressed through human trials, culminating in authorization in the United States and Europe in December 2020.

Financial Strength

BioNTech has historically burned through cash to fund research and development of its pipeline. The company has minimal debt on its balance sheet, as it has funded discovery and development with equity issues and collaboration payments from partnerships with large pharmaceutical firms. Outside of BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine candidates, we think the earliest approval could arrive in 2023, which would put the company on a path toward steady profitability. Management has taken advantage of a couple of opportunities to acquire early-stage assets and expand its geographic footprint to establish a U.S. research hub at low prices.

BioNTech’s revenue soared to EUR 5.3 billion in the second quarter, with roughly EUR 1 billion in direct revenue for its COVID-19 vaccine in BioNTech territories and EUR 4.1 billion in gross profit share and milestones from partners (chiefly Pfizer, which reported $7.8 billion in COVID-19 vaccine revenue in the quarter). BioNTech now expects full-year revenue from the COVID-19 vaccine of EUR 15.9 billion in 2021. Based on these changes, full global sales of Pfizer/BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine of $35 billion in 2021 and $39 billion in 2022, as sales in developing markets and third-dose booster sales to developed markets continue to grow. Increased our assumed probability of approval for Pfizer/ BioNTech’s flu program BNT161 from 60% to 70% given continuing validation of this technology in infectious diseases.

Overall, these changes boost our fair value estimate to $172 per share from $139. BioNTech (and peer Moderna) rapidly building a moat based on novel mRNA technology, although multiple potential competitors, significant uncertainty around the duration of COVID-19 revenue beyond 2022, and ongoing validation of this technology outside of COVID-19 prevent us from assigning BioNTech a moat at this time. While the initial series continues to show 90%+ efficacy at preventing severe disease, efficacy against symptomatic infection has been slowly declining, from a peak of 96% down to 84% in individuals that are more than four months past their second dose. Both Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna have early phase 2 data showing that a third dose of their authorized vaccines significantly boosts neutralizing antibody activity against the original strain and variants, including the delta variant.

Bulls Say’s

BioNTech’s pipeline, which relies on expertise in mRNA and bioinformatics, will be difficult to replicate by competitors.
BioNTech will be able to command a premium price with its personalized cancer therapies, if successful.
The rapid development of COVID-19 vaccine Comirnaty bodes well for the rest of BioNTech’s pipeline and the future of its mRNA research platform.

Company Profile

BioNTech is a Germany-based biotechnology company that focuses on developing cancer therapeutics, including individualized immunotherapy, as well as vaccines for infectious diseases, including COVID-19. The company’s oncology pipeline contains several classes of drugs, including mRNA-based drugs to encode antigens, neoantigens, cytokines, and antibodies; cell therapies; bispecific antibodies; and small-molecule immunomodulators. BioNTech is partnered with several large pharmaceutical companies, including Roche, Eli Lilly, Pfizer, Sanofi, and Genmab. Comirnaty (COVID-19 vaccine) is its first commercialized product.

(Source: Morningstar)
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Any advice/ information provided is general in nature only and does not take into account the personal financial situation, objectives or needs of any particular person.