Global Hedge Funds Miss Vaccine Boost... Moderna and BioNTech Sell-Off in September

Moderna Up 376% Since Early Year, BioNTech Up 157%
Excessive Surge Leads to Selling Amid US Election Volatility Concerns

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] Since the beginning of this year, global hedge funds that had been increasing their investment ratios in major vaccine stocks following the outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) reportedly missed out on the positive news regarding the vaccine immunity effects of these companies by massively selling Moderna and BioNTech shares at the end of September. These stocks had shown a sharp rise since the beginning of the year, and with increased market volatility around the U.S. presidential election, it is interpreted that large-scale sell-offs were made in advance.

According to CNBC and major foreign media, leading hedge funds reportedly sold large amounts of shares of Moderna and BioNTech, known as prominent COVID-19 vaccine developers, by the end of September. BioNTech announced that the immunity effect of the vaccine co-developed with Pfizer reached 95%, and since the end of the third quarter, its stock price has risen an additional 26%. Moderna also saw a 28% increase after announcing a 94.5% immunity effect. Hedge funds are believed to have missed out on the gains from the rise in shares due to the positive immunity news.

By the end of September, hedge fund firms such as Valyasni Asset Management, Healthcore Management, Logos Global Management, and Redmile Group sold off large portions of their holdings and exited. According to Amazon.com, the BioNTech shares held by hedge funds were about 3.4 million shares at the end of the third quarter, a decrease of approximately 1.9 million shares compared to the beginning of the quarter. During the same period, hedge funds sold about 2.2 million Moderna shares, and as of the end of the third quarter, hedge funds held approximately 11.7 million shares of Moderna.

The reason hedge funds sold these stocks is interpreted as being due to the sharp rise in stock prices since the beginning of the year and heightened anxiety ahead of the November U.S. presidential election. Moderna's stock price reportedly rose 376% since the beginning of the year, while BioNTech's increased by 157%.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.