PFIZER MARKET CAPITALIZATION SURGES AFTER UK AUTHORIZES THE USE OF ITS COVID-19 VACCINE

The coronavirus pandemic has   put enormous pressure on the pharmaceutical industry, forcing companies to roll out clinical trials for a Covid-19 vaccine at breakneck speed.

Since the United Kingdom authorized the use of Pfizer and BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine, the US pharmaceutical giant has taken center stage in the Covid-19 fight.

According to data recently   presented by StockApps.com, the market capitalization of the US multinational pharmaceutical corporation surged by more than $26 billion since the UK announced the use of its vaccine.

As one of the largest pharmaceutical companies globally, Pfizer has witnessed a sharp drop in market capitalization amid the Covid-19 crisis.

In December 2019, the combined value of shares of the US pharmaceutical   giant stood at $216.8 billion, revealed Yahoo Finance data. After the stock market crash in March, this figure slumped to $181.2 billion. The negative trend continued in the second quarter of the year, with the market capitalization amounting to $181.6 billion in June.

Although Pfizer’s stock price slightly increased in the third quarter, with the market capitalization rising to almost $204 billion in September, it was still $12 billion below the December levels.

After becoming the first pharmaceutical company whose vaccine has been officially authorized for emergency use in the United Kingdom, Pfizer’s stock price surged in just a few days. A final analysis of the phase three trial of the vaccine showed it was 95% effective in preventing infections and the UK has ordered forty million doses of the vaccine, enough to vaccinate twenty million people.

On November 25th, the market capitalization of the US pharmaceutical corporation stood at $203 billion.  In the next five days, this figure jumped to $213 billion and continued rising.

On December 2nd, it amounted to $226.7 billion, a 4.5% increase year-over-year. The MacroTrends data show this value continued growing, reaching $229.2 billion recently.

Despite becoming the first company whose vaccine has been authorized for emergency use, Pfizer has suffered the severest financial hit among the top three pharmaceutical giants.

In 2019, Pfizer generated $51.75 billion in total revenues, with fourth-quarter sales contributing around $12.7 billion, down from $14 billion in the same quarter a year ago.

However, in the first months of 2020, the sales of the US pharmaceutical giant dropped by 7% to $12.2 billion. The negative trend continued in the second quarter, with revenue falling to $11.8 billion, a 9% decrease year on year.

Third-quarter sales dropped by $500 million, or 4%, due to Covid-19, primarily driven by lower demand for certain products in China and disruptions to wellness visits for patients in the United States, negatively impacting prescribing patterns for specific products. Statistics indicate Pfizer’s revenue for the nine months of 2020 amounted to $35.9 billion, a $3 billion drop year-on-year.