As IPO queue swells, BioNTech underwhelms in NASDAQ debut

Shares of BioNTech sagged 5% to $14.24 in its first day of trading Thursday after the company priced its IPO amid diminished expectations. The German biotech had hoped to obtain a valuation well above $4 billion, but its offering price suggests a figure of about $3.4 billion.

BioNTech SE (NASDAQ:BNTX) raised $150 million via the sale of 10 million ADSs at $15, the bottom end of its $15-$16 proposed range. In a Sept. 24 prospectus, BioNTech had proposed to sell 13.2 million ADSs at $18-$20; at the $19 mid-point, BioNTech would have raised just over $250 million at a postmoney valuation of nearly $4.4 billion. Each ADS is worth one ordinary share...