The BioNTech and Pfizer vaccine has just received emergency approval from the UK regulator, MHRA, meaning it is the first vaccine globally to be given the green light and will be distributed in the UK as early as next week.
The UK welcomes an initial 800,000 vaccines from the biotechnology company which has been described by scientists and politicians as the ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ but, not everyone is celebrating.
BioNTech has a long-standing history of high-profile investors with a $55M injection from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation just last year.
We also recently reported on the Single Family Office with a controlling stake in the company which has since become one of the few Family Offices across the world with a single holding in their portfolio valued at over $12BN.
But while the Strüngmann brothers at Athos Service GmbH deservedly celebrate, several hedge funds are regrettably watching on as Reuters reports millions of shares in BioNTech and Moderna being sold during the third quarter.
Since the end of the third quarter BioNtech's stock has jumped another 26% and Moderna's stock has climbed 28%, adding to triple-digit percentage gains and putting them among the biggest winners this year, during which the S&P 500 has rebounded 60% from its March lows.
Redmile Group, BioNTech’s largest hedge fund investor reduced its holdings by 59% alongside Citadel, Balyasny and Schonfeld Strategic Advisors. Symmetric.io data shows that hedge funds owned 3.4 million shares of BioNTech at the end of the quarter, 1.9 million down from the start and it comes as a devastating blow as BioNTechs’ stock price rose 157% beating the S&P 500 index, currently up by 12%.
While some cut their losses and others reap their rewards, thousands of Family Offices are again looking to diversify their portfolios to reflect the growing movement within biotechnology.
In Q3 the UK biotech industry raised £1BN in investment, a record-breaking figure. In the same month, 53% of our network said they were looking to biotechnology in a bid to diversify their portfolios, decentralise risk and invest sustainably.
As we embark on the end of the year, we are witnessing a huge surge in Family Offices looking to build-out their teams ready to conquer the new year, but will the trend of portfolio diversification and sustainable investment continue?