Why BioNTech Shares Are Rising

BioNTech SE BNTX shares rose on Thursday after the company and Pfizer Inc. PFE announced that a booster shot of their COVID-19 vaccine was found to have a high efficacy of 95.6%.

The companies stated that the vaccine booster’s efficacy was strong for different demographic groups, "efficacy was consistent irrespective of age, sex, race, ethnicity or comorbid conditions."

The trial included more than 10,000 participants, all fully vaccinated and aged 16 or older. The participants received either the booster shot or a placebo. The company said that the median time between receiving the second dose of the vaccine and the booster shot, was 11 months.

In the controlled study, the companies found that there were 109 COVID-19 cases in participants that were fully vaccinated but received the placebo shot. This was compared to five COVID-19 cases in participants that were fully vaccinated but received the booster shot.

The stock was trading about 4.3% higher at $281.06 per share on Thursday at the time of publication.