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Pfizer Inc. (PFE), headquartered in New York, discovers, develops, manufactures, markets, distributes, and sells biopharmaceutical products. With a market cap of $134.9 billion, the company offers medicines, vaccines, medical devices, and consumer healthcare products for oncology, inflammation, cardiovascular, and other therapeutic areas.
Companies worth $10 billion or more are generally described as “large-cap stocks,” and PFE perfectly fits that description, with its market cap exceeding this mark, underscoring its size, influence, and dominance within the general drug manufacturers industry. PFE thrives on its strong product lineup, including popular vaccines and blockbuster drugs. With a commitment to research and development, Pfizer continues to invest in innovation, ensuring a steady stream of new products. International sales make up nearly half of its revenue, highlighting its global reach and competitive standing in the pharmaceutical industry.
Despite its notable strength, PFE slipped 26% from its 52-week high of $31.54, achieved on Jul. 30, 2024. Over the past three months, PFE stock declined 11%, underperforming the S&P 500 Index’s ($SPX) 4.6% rise during the same time frame.
In the longer term, shares of PFE dipped 12% on a YTD basis and declined 18.9% over the past 52 weeks, underperforming SPX’s YTD gains of 2% and 12.1% returns over the last year.
Despite the negative price momentum, PFE has been trading above its 50-day moving average recently. However, the stock is trading below its 200-day moving average since early November, 2024, indicating a bearish trend.
PFE’s underperformance is due to recent U.S. regulatory changes affecting Pfizer's revenue from Comirnaty, making the U.S. coronavirus vaccine market smaller. President Trump announced a potential 30% to 80% decrease in prescription drug prices, causing large drugmakers' shares, including PFE, to decline globally. The Inflation Reduction Act allows Medicare to negotiate drug prices directly with manufacturers, impacting sales and profits. The “most favored nations’ policy” will save the government money but challenge the pharma industry affecting its performance.
On Apr. 29, PFE shares closed up more than 3% after reporting its Q1 results. Its adjusted EPS of $0.92 topped Wall Street expectations of $0.64. The company’s revenue was $13.7 billion, missing Wall Street forecasts of $13.8 billion. PFE expects full-year adjusted EPS in the range of $2.80 to $3, and expects revenue in the range of $61 billion to $64 billion.
In the competitive arena of general drug manufacturers, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (BMY) has taken the lead over PFE, showing resilience with a 17% gain over the past 52 weeks but lagged behind the stock with a 14.2% downtick on a YTD basis.
Wall Street analysts are moderately bullish on PFE’s prospects. The stock has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating from the 23 analysts covering it, and the mean price target of $27.62 suggests a potential upside of 18.3% from current price levels.
On the date of publication, Neha Panjwani did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.
