Millions with innovations: BioNTech, Meta Materials, Varta

BioNTech: The market says "yes" to mRNA

The example of BioNTech shows that the rise of industry giants does not necessarily have to take decades. Apart from the vaccine of Moderna, the mRNA specialist from Mainz has brought to market what is probably the best vaccine against COVID-19. It ensured a net profit of a whopping EUR 10 billion in just one year. In terms of profit, BioNTech has gone from a startup to a major corporation in just three years. Since the Company is well-positioned around mRNA technology and, unlike in the past, no longer has to go door-to-door to raise funds, the stock could also be promising.

But between last summer and the beginning of March, the stock only went down. Most recently, BioNTech has been able to free itself a little and is preparing to leave the downward trend. In the medium term, the stock should overcome the EUR 200 mark to get back into more positive waters. However, the extent to which the share is still good for the multiplication that investors are hoping for remains to be seen. In the meantime, a lot seems to have been priced in around BioNTech and the mRNA technology.

Meta Materials: More than a second Gamestop share

Last summer, the market had also priced in a lot for Meta Materials: At its peak, the stock reached a whopping USD 21.76 on the US stock exchange Nasdaq. On a daily closing basis, there is still a high for the year of 7.49. Today, the stock is trading at USD 1.58. What has happened? Not much. Meta Materials wants to make so-called metamaterials presentable and enable industrial production at competitive prices. Metamaterials are artificial substances with properties that do not physically occur in nature. Concrete applications include transparent coatings that take on the function of antennas or coatings that refract light in such a way that objects become invisible because the light is deflected around them. What sounds like science fiction is reality - just not yet producible at such low cost. Meta Materials is confident, however, that it will soon be able to address this problem effectively.

Until then, the Company is suffering the fate of many growth companies. The Company recently reported a loss and weak sales figures, and the market acknowledged the Company's news with share price losses. But the Company's field of activity is unique and offers the potential to become the "next big thing". The magazine "Spektrum der Wissenschaft" has already dedicated an entire topic page to metamaterials. Anyone interested in future technology can read up on it. Investors must decide for themselves whether the share has a future - the value does not appear expensive at present after the price losses.

Varta: Rather conservative

If you want to score with innovations, you should have a lot of know-how in your industry. And that is exactly the case for the battery manufacturer Varta. The Company scores with button cells for hearing aids and headphones and is also taking off with batteries for e-cars. Last week, Varta exceeded its guidance and analysts' expectations with its business figures for 2021. In 2022, sales are expected to increase from around EUR 900 million to EUR 950 million. From 2023, sales of rechargeable batteries for e-cars are to be the new revenue driver. However, the fantasy around e-cars is now out at Varta - the advance praise around the share was too great last year, and the battery perspective is too far away. It is also not clear whether Varta will truly be able to outdo the competition from around the world.

While Varta is a laggard in the e-car battery space, Meta Materials is entering completely new territory with its approach. The perspective of the Nasdaq stock is thus similar to BioNTech at the beginning of the pandemic. Only the catalyst that will help Meta Materials achieve a breakthrough is currently still missing. However, many innovations are conceivable for Meta Materials in the areas of data glasses, smart displays, the energy transition, and telecommunications.