ReportWire

Tag: PFE

  • First Hawaiian Bank Buys 3,531 Shares of Pfizer Inc. $PFE

    [ad_1]

    First Hawaiian Bank lifted its stake in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE – Free Report) by 6.9% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 54,455 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,531 shares during the quarter. First Hawaiian Bank’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $1,380,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

    A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PFE. Gould Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 97.2% in the 4th quarter. Gould Capital LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 493 shares in the last quarter. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. bought a new stake in Pfizer in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in Pfizer in the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. North Capital Inc. bought a new position in Pfizer during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new position in shares of Pfizer during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

    Pfizer Stock Performance

    Pfizer stock opened at $23.91 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $24.79 and a 200-day moving average of $24.28. The firm has a market cap of $135.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.72, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.55. Pfizer Inc. has a 1-year low of $20.92 and a 1-year high of $30.43.

    Pfizer (NYSE:PFE – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.20. Pfizer had a return on equity of 21.42% and a net margin of 16.84%.The company had revenue of $14.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.60 EPS. Pfizer’s revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Pfizer has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.900-3.100 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

    Pfizer Announces Dividend

    The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, July 25th were paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 25th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.2%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 91.49%.

    Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

    A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PFE. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. HSBC cut their price target on shares of Pfizer from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Pfizer from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Citigroup increased their target price on Pfizer from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Berenberg Bank reduced their price target on Pfizer from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Pfizer has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $28.12.

    Read Our Latest Stock Report on PFE

    Pfizer Profile

    (Free Report)

    Pfizer Inc discovers, develops, manufactures, markets, distributes, and sells biopharmaceutical products in the United States, Europe, and internationally. The company offers medicines and vaccines in various therapeutic areas, including cardiovascular metabolic, migraine, and women’s health under the Eliquis, Nurtec ODT/Vydura, Zavzpret, and the Premarin family brands; infectious diseases with unmet medical needs under the Prevnar family, Abrysvo, Nimenrix, FSME/IMMUN-TicoVac, and Trumenba brands; and COVID-19 prevention and treatment, and potential future mRNA and antiviral products under the Comirnaty and Paxlovid brands.

    See Also

    Want to see what other hedge funds are holding PFE? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE – Free Report).

    Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Pfizer (NYSE:PFE)



    Receive News & Ratings for Pfizer Daily – Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts’ ratings for Pfizer and related companies with MarketBeat.com’s FREE daily email newsletter.

    [ad_2]

    ABMN Staff

    Source link

  • Bellecapital International Ltd. Grows Stock Holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

    Bellecapital International Ltd. Grows Stock Holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

    [ad_1]

    Bellecapital International Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE – Free Report) by 41.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 46,123 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,491 shares during the period. Bellecapital International Ltd.’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $1,328,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

    A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of PFE. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Pfizer by 89,592.7% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 161,143,638 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $8,257,000,000 after purchasing an additional 160,963,976 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the fourth quarter worth $3,150,472,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Pfizer by 10.9% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 95,772,746 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,161,261,000 after purchasing an additional 9,393,992 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in shares of Pfizer by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 79,499,361 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $4,073,547,000 after purchasing an additional 7,419,929 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Pfizer during the first quarter worth $311,238,000. 68.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

    Pfizer Price Performance

    Pfizer stock opened at $27.75 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $157.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 77.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.69. Pfizer Inc. has a 1 year low of $25.61 and a 1 year high of $42.22. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $27.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $29.37.

    Pfizer (NYSE:PFE – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.19) by $0.29. Pfizer had a net margin of 3.62% and a return on equity of 10.88%. The business had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.14 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 41.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.22 earnings per share for the current year.

    Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

    A number of brokerages have issued reports on PFE. Guggenheim began coverage on shares of Pfizer in a report on Friday, February 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Pfizer from $34.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 14th. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Pfizer from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $32.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Pfizer from $42.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 14th. Finally, Argus downgraded shares of Pfizer from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $36.88.

    View Our Latest Analysis on Pfizer

    About Pfizer

    (Free Report)

    Pfizer Inc discovers, develops, manufactures, markets, distributes, and sells biopharmaceutical products in the United States, Europe, and internationally. The company offers medicines and vaccines in various therapeutic areas, including cardiovascular metabolic, migraine, and women’s health under the Eliquis, Nurtec ODT/Vydura, Zavzpret, and the Premarin family brands; infectious diseases with unmet medical needs under the Prevnar family, Abrysvo, Nimenrix, FSME/IMMUN-TicoVac, and Trumenba brands; and COVID-19 prevention and treatment, and potential future mRNA and antiviral products under the Comirnaty and Paxlovid brands.

    Featured Stories

    Want to see what other hedge funds are holding PFE? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE – Free Report).

    Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Pfizer (NYSE:PFE)

    Receive News & Ratings for Pfizer Daily – Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts’ ratings for Pfizer and related companies with MarketBeat.com’s FREE daily email newsletter.

    [ad_2]

    ABMN Staff

    Source link

  • Pfizer gets FDA green light for new shot that can streamline teenagers’ vaccinations

    Pfizer gets FDA green light for new shot that can streamline teenagers’ vaccinations

    [ad_1]

    Pfizer Inc.
    PFE,
    -1.73%
    said Friday that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the first five-in-one vaccine designed to protect teenagers and young adults against meningococcal disease. 

    The new Pfizer shot, Penbraya, protects against the five most common subgroups of meningococcal disease, a rare but serious and potentially fatal illness that most often affects babies and teenagers. 

    Penbraya “has the potential to protect more adolescents and young adults from this severe and unpredictable disease by providing the broadest meningococcal coverage in the fewest shots,” Annaliesa Anderson, Pfizer senior vice president and head of vaccine research and development, said in a statement. 

    The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention currently recommends that all 11- to 12-year-olds get a meningococcal vaccine protecting against four of the subgroups — A, C, W and Y — and get a booster dose of the same vaccine type at age 16. Teenagers and young adults age 16 to 23 may also get a meningococcal B vaccine, the CDC says, particularly if they’re at increased risk due to other health conditions. 

    The complex vaccination schedule has weighed on uptake of the meningococcal shots, and the COVID-19 pandemic may have compounded the problem, as many families missed routine appointments when vaccinations were due, researchers say. Among teenagers who were born in 2008 — who were due for their routine adolescent vaccinations as the pandemic was raging in 2020 — uptake of meningococcal and other recommended vaccines declined, according to CDC research. Only about 60% of the 17-year-olds surveyed by the CDC last year had received both recommended doses of the ACWY vaccine, and fewer than 30% had received at least one dose of the meningococcal B vaccine. 

    The new Pfizer shot combines components of a meningococcal group B vaccine and an ACWY vaccine. 

    A CDC immunization advisory committee is set to meet Oct. 25 to discuss recommendations for the use of Penbraya in teenagers and young adults, Pfizer said. 

    The green light for Penbraya gives Pfizer the edge in its race with GSK
    GSK,
    +0.54%    ,
    which is also working on a five-in-one meningococcal shot. GSK earlier this year released positive late-stage clinical-trial results for that vaccine. 

    The FDA approval of Pfizer’s shot caps a rocky week for the pharmaceutical giant, which late last Friday cut $9 billion from its full-year revenue guidance due to reduced COVID sales expectations and announced a cost-cutting program designed to deliver savings of at least $3.5 billion. Pfizer executives said on a call with analysts Monday that development of combination respiratory vaccines, such as those that provide COVID and flu protection in one shot, remains a focus for the company, in part because they can help boost vaccine uptake.

    Pfizer shares were down 1.7% Friday and have dropped 40% in the year to date, while the S&P 500
    SPX
    has gained 10%.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • NIO, Moderna, Block, U.S. Steel, and More Stock Market Movers

    NIO, Moderna, Block, U.S. Steel, and More Stock Market Movers

    [ad_1]

    This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies for distribution to your colleagues, clients or customers visit http://www.djreprints.com.

    https://www.barrons.com/articles/stock-market-movers-8c0c7b23

    • Order Reprints
    • Print Article

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • 5 things to know about the new COVID-19 vaccine

    5 things to know about the new COVID-19 vaccine

    [ad_1]

    It may be time to get your COVID-19 vaccine again.

    There’s a new booster that’s coming out to guard against the virus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday that it was recommending the vaccine, which is being produced in versions by Moderna
    MRNA,
    +3.18%
    and Pfizer
    PFE,
    -0.20%
    -BioNTech
    BNTX,
    -2.06%    ,
    for people 6 months of age and older.

    Here are answers to some common questions about the shot — and what you may need to know before you receive it.

    Why are we seeing another booster?

    Boosters are all about maintaining protection against the virus as new COVID-19 variants emerge. The CDC said: “The updated vaccines should work well against currently circulating variants of COVID-19, including BA.2.86, and continue to be the best way to protect yourself against severe disease.” The CDC also noted that “protection from COVID-19 vaccines and infection decline over time. An updated COVID-19 vaccine provides enhanced protection against the variants currently responsible for most hospitalizations in the United States.”

    So, everyone who is 6 months or older should receive it?

    That’s the CDC’s recommendation, but not everyone sees this booster as a firm requirement, depending on various medical and other factors.

    Dr. Paul A. Offit, a pediatrician with the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia who specializes in infectious diseases, told MarketWatch that the new vaccine is a must for some who are at higher risk for developing serious illness, such as people who are over 75, people who have certain health problems (including diabetes, obesity or chronic lung or heart disease) and people who are immune compromised.

    And what about the others? Offit said it can be a case of “low risk, low reward.” Meaning there’s little harm in getting the booster and it may buy “a few months protection against mild disease,” Offit said. But he stops short of saying the booster is an absolute necessity for such people.

    Still, CDC director Dr. Mandy K. Cohen counters such an argument. In a column for the New York Times, Cohen noted that all the members of her family, including her 9- and 11-year-old daughters, would be getting the booster. “Some viruses…change over time. This coronavirus is one of them. It finds ways to evade our immune systems by constantly evolving. That’s why our vaccines need to be updated to match the changed virus,” Cohen explained.

    What if you recently had COVID? Or have just gotten the previous COVID booster?

    Offit said you should wait at least two months — and possibly as long as four months — before receiving the new vaccine.

    The CDC said, “You should get a COVID-19 vaccine even if you already had COVID-19,” adding “you may consider delaying your next vaccine by 3 months from when your [COVID] symptoms started or, if you had no symptoms, when you received a positive test.”

    When and where can you get the new booster?

    The CDC said the vaccine “will be available by the end of this week at most places you would normally go to get your vaccines.”

    How much will it cost?

    The new shots are expected to have list prices of $110 to $130, but the CDC said, “Most Americans can still get a COVID-19 vaccine for free.” That is, most health-insurance plans will cover the cost.

    As for those without insurance, the CDC said there are still plenty of free options, including programs run by local health centers and health departments as well as pharmacies participating in the CDC’s Bridge Access Program. For more information about where to get the booster, go to Vaccines.gov.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • CDC recommends updated COVID shots for people 6 months of age and older

    CDC recommends updated COVID shots for people 6 months of age and older

    [ad_1]

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday recommended updated COVID-19 vaccines for people 6 months of age and older.

    Director Mandy Cohen late Tuesday backed the findings of CDC advisers, who voted 13-to-1 for approval earlier in the day. The updated vaccines from Moderna Inc.
    MRNA,
    -0.53%
    and Pfizer Inc.
    PFE,
    +0.62%
    -BioNTech
    BNTX,
    -1.97%
    should become available later this week.

    “We have more tools than ever to prevent the worst outcomes from COVID-19,” Cohen said in a statement. “CDC is now recommending updated COVID-19 vaccination for everyone 6 months and older to better protect you and your loved ones.”

    The move comes just one day after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the updated shots from Moderna and Pfizer. The FDA approved single-dose vaccines for people 12 and older and authorized emergency use of new shots for children as young as 6 months.

    The CDC recommendations Tuesday include some key changes from the recommendations that previously applied to the bivalent COVID vaccines. People age 65 and older were recommended to get a second bivalent dose, for example, but the CDC is not currently recommending two doses of the new shot for older adults. The CDC said it will monitor epidemiology and vaccine effectiveness to determine if additional doses are needed.

    The recommendations come as the vaccines are transitioning from federal procurement and distribution to the commercial market. The new shots are expected to have list prices of $110 to $130 per dose. But the Affordable Care Act requires insurers to cover most vaccines recommended by the CDC advisory committee at no cost to plan enrollees, and people with Medicare and Medicaid also have no-cost access to the vaccines. 

    The CDC meeting Tuesday addressed some concerns about the accessibility and cost of the vaccines for people without health-insurance coverage. The CDC’s new Bridge Access program will provide free shots to uninsured people within days at retail pharmacies as well as local health centers, the CDC said. The agency had previously said that the free shots might not arrive in retail pharmacies until mid-October. The federal government’s vaccines.gov website will be updated later this week to list Bridge Access program sites, the CDC said.

    Roughly 25 million to 30 million U.S. adults do not have health insurance. About 85% of people without coverage live within 5 miles of a Bridge Access program site, according to CDC data.

    Under the Bridge Access program, CVS Health Corp.
    CVS,
    +2.57%
    will administer doses in stores and Minute Clinics, the CDC said, and Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc.
    WBA,
    +1.35%
    will offer doses in stores and at off-site events that target areas of low access and uptake. Healthcare-services company eTrueNorth is also working with the program to reach lower-access areas without other coverage under the program, the CDC said.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Ozempic and other weight-loss drugs boost pharmacy sales at Rite Aid

    Ozempic and other weight-loss drugs boost pharmacy sales at Rite Aid

    [ad_1]

    Rite Aid Corp. said Thursday that its fiscal first-quarter pharmacy sales got a boost from a new class of drug.

    Pharmacy sales, which rose 3.4% from a year ago, were boosted by higher sales of Ozempic and other GLP-1 receptor agonists, which are used to treat Type 2 diabetes and obesity.

    The higher sales did not translate into profit, however.

    “As the cost of these drugs is also high, the impact of the increase in volume of these drugs on our gross profit dollars is minimal,” Rite Aid Chief Financial Officer Matthew Schroeder told analysts on the company’s earnings call, according to a FactSet transcript.

    Still, the company
    RAD,
    +2.96%
    cheered investors by raising its full-year revenue guidance due to the sales bump from Ozempic and other high-dollar GLP-1 drugs. It now expects revenue of $22.6 billion to $23 billion, ahead of the FactSet consensus of $22.3 billion.

    Ozempic, Wegovy and Rybelsus, which are made by Novo Nordisk
    NOVO.B,
    +0.17%

    NOVO.B,
    +0.17%    ,
    and Mounjaro, which is made by Eli Lilly & Co.
    LLY,
    +1.34%    ,
    have become so popular in the U.S. that supplies have at times run short and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has been forced to warn patients against using knockoff versions.

    The drugs are administered by injection and mimic the effects of GLP-1, a gut hormone that can help control blood-sugar levels and reduce appetite. GLP stands for glucagon-like peptide.

    Ozempic, Rybelsus and Mounjaro have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for treatment of Type 2 diabetes, while Wegovy is approved for people with obesity and for certain people with excess weight combined with weight-related medical problems. 

    Last year, more than 5 million prescriptions for Ozempic, Mounjaro, Rybelsus or Wegovy were written for weight management, up from 230,000 in 2019, according to data and analytics firm Komodo Health.

    Obesity drugs could be a $54 billion market by 2030, up from $2.4 billion in 2022, Morgan Stanley said in a report last year. Reports of people who take GLP-1 drugs seeing improvements in addictive behaviors such as smoking and drinking have lately amplified interest in the medications.  

    For more, read: The dark side of the weight-loss-drug craze: eating disorders, medication shortages, dangerous knockoffs

    Drug companies, including Lilly and Pfizer Inc.
    PFE,
    -0.32%    ,
    are now working to develop treatments in the form of pills that could be more convenient alternatives to the injectables.

    See now: Weight-loss drugs in development aim to replace injections with pills

    Rite Aid’s overall numbers surprised on the upside, as its loss was narrower than expected and revenue beat the consensus estimate.

    For more, see: Rite Aid’s stock soars 7.5% after company surprises with earnings that are less bad than feared

    Eleanor Laise contributed.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Pfizer wins full FDA approval for oral COVID therapy Paxlovid for adults at high risk of developing severe illness

    Pfizer wins full FDA approval for oral COVID therapy Paxlovid for adults at high risk of developing severe illness

    [ad_1]

    Pfizer Inc.
    PFE,
    -2.04%
    said Thursday it has received full Food and Drug Administration approval for its Paxlovid oral treatment for COVID-19 for use in adult patients with high risk of developing severe disease. The treatment has been available in the U.S. since December of 2021 under an Emergency Use Authorization. To date, more than 11.6 million treatment courses have been prescribed. There are still about 14,500 reported cases of COVID in the U.S. every week, but many others are not reported. The U.S. ended the COVID public health emergency on May 11. Pfizer’s stock was down 2% Thursday, and has fallen 26% in the year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 8%.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • 8 value stocks that look like bargains for long-term investors

    8 value stocks that look like bargains for long-term investors

    [ad_1]

    When is it a good time to buy stocks? Some investors would say the current negativity dominating the financial media means you are better off sitting on the sidelines. Others would say it is always a good time to buy stocks, provided you can get them for good prices.

    Count John Buckingham, editor of the Prudent Speculator, in the latter camp. He is a value investor with decades of experience. During an interview, he emphasized the importance of remaining disciplined through all market conditions. While he favors the value…

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) Shares Sold by Grandfield & Dodd LLC

    Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) Shares Sold by Grandfield & Dodd LLC

    [ad_1]

    Grandfield & Dodd LLC reduced its stake in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE – Get Rating) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 79,604 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 3,090 shares during the period. Grandfield & Dodd LLC’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $4,079,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

    A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Front Street Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Pfizer by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Front Street Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,168 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $268,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. Lindenwold Advisors grew its stake in Pfizer by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Lindenwold Advisors now owns 21,151 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $926,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Pfizer by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 13,618 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $714,000 after buying an additional 218 shares during the period. Signet Financial Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Pfizer by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC now owns 34,338 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,503,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the period. Finally, Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. grew its stake in shares of Pfizer by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. now owns 33,978 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,487,000 after buying an additional 222 shares during the period. 67.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

    Pfizer Stock Performance

    PFE opened at $40.25 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $227.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.00. Pfizer Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.23 and a 1-year high of $56.32. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $42.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $45.70.

    Pfizer (NYSE:PFE – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 31st. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $24.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.40 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 42.03% and a net margin of 31.27%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.08 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 3.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

    Insider Buying and Selling at Pfizer

    In other news, major shareholder Pfizer Inc bought 1,811,594 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 17th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $2.76 per share, with a total value of $4,999,999.44. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 5,952,263 shares in the company, valued at $16,428,245.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.05% of the company’s stock.

    Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

    PFE has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Pfizer from $53.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 1st. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Pfizer in a report on Monday, March 6th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $43.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Pfizer from $50.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 17th. Atlantic Securities reduced their target price on shares of Pfizer from $50.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 1st. Finally, UBS Group set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, March 14th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Pfizer presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.38.

    Pfizer Company Profile

    (Get Rating)

    Pfizer Inc is a research-based global biopharmaceutical company. It engages in the discovery, development, manufacture, marketing, sales and distribution of biopharmaceutical products worldwide. The firm works across developed and emerging markets to advance wellness, prevention, treatments and cures that challenge the most feared diseases.

    Featured Stories

    Want to see what other hedge funds are holding PFE? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE – Get Rating).

    Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Pfizer (NYSE:PFE)

    Receive News & Ratings for Pfizer Daily – Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts’ ratings for Pfizer and related companies with MarketBeat.com’s FREE daily email newsletter.

    [ad_2]

    ABMN Staff

    Source link

  • Pfizer Agrees to Buy Seagen for $43 Billion

    Pfizer Agrees to Buy Seagen for $43 Billion

    [ad_1]

    Pfizer Agrees to Buy Seagen for $43 Billion

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Biden to end U.S. COVID emergencies on May 11, but more than 500 people are still dying every day

    Biden to end U.S. COVID emergencies on May 11, but more than 500 people are still dying every day

    [ad_1]

    President Joe Biden will end the twin national emergencies for addressing COVID-19 on May 11, as most of the world gets closer to normalcy nearly three years after the emergencies were first declared, the Associated Press reported. 

    The move would formally overturn the federal response to the virus and change it to one where COVID is treated as an endemic threat to public health, much like the flu, which returns seasonally but can be managed without major disruption to the healthcare system.

    The…

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • FDA panel backs plan for annual COVID-19 booster, as new omicron subvariant continues to dominate in new cases

    FDA panel backs plan for annual COVID-19 booster, as new omicron subvariant continues to dominate in new cases

    [ad_1]

    A Food and Drug Administration advisory panel voted unanimously Thursday for Americans to get a once-a-year booster against COVID-19, with the strain to be decided midyear for a fall campaign, the Associated Press reported. 

    “This is a consequential meeting to determine if we’ve reached the point in the pandemic that allows for simplifying the use of current COVID-19 vaccines,” said the FDA’s Dr. David Kaslow.

    The panel agreed that people should get the same vaccine formula whether they’re receiving their initial vaccinations or a booster. Today, Americans get one formula based on the original coronavirus strain that emerged in 2020 for their first two or three doses, and their latest booster is a combination shot made by Pfizer
    PFE,
    -0.33%
    or Moderna
    MRNA,
    -0.90%
    that adds protection against omicron.

    The FDA would have to decide how to phase in that change.

    COVID-19 vaccines have saved millions of lives, and booster doses remain the best protection against severe disease and death. But Americans are tired of getting vaccinated. While more than 80% of the U.S. population has had at least one COVID-19 shot, only 16% of those eligible for the latest boosters — so-called bivalent doses updated to better match more recent virus strains — have gotten one.

    Separately, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offered an update Friday on the strains that are dominant in the U.S., showing that XBB.1.5, the omicron sublineage that first emerged in small numbers in October, has extended its lead over other variants.

    XBB.1.5 accounted for 61.3% of cases in the week through Jan. 28, the data shows, up from 49.1% a week ago. The prior dominant variants, BQ.1.1 and BQ.1, together accounted for 31.1% of new cases.

    In the CDC’s Region 2, which includes New York, New Jersey, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, XBB.1.5 accounted for 91.1% of new cases, up from 86.8% the previous week.

    The World Health Organization said this week that it now has data on XBB.1.5 from 54 countries, showing it has a growth advantage over other circulating strains but still appears no more severe.

    In its weekly epidemiological update, the agency said it has raised the confidence level of its risk assessment for XBB.1.5 to “moderate” from “low,” using these additional reports. The highest number of XBB.1.5 cases are showing up in the U.S., the U.K., Canada, Denmark, Germany, Ireland and Austria.

    The news comes as the seven-day average of new cases stood at 46,300 on Thursday, according to a New York Times tracker. That’s down 24% from two weeks ago. The daily average for hospitalizations was down 24%, at 34,833. The average number of deaths was 549, down 3% from two weeks ago. 

    Cases are currently climbing in eight states — Illinois, Tennessee, Minnesota, Alaska, South Dakota, Vermont, Kentucky and Kansas — as well as in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Washington, D.C.

    Coronavirus update: MarketWatch’s daily roundup has been curating and reporting all the latest developments every weekday since the coronavirus pandemic began

    Other COVID-19 news you should know about:

    • China’s claim that COVID cases and deaths have peaked and are falling fast is failing to take on board that testing is not keeping up with infections, the Guardian reported. China ended its zero-COVID policy in December and promptly saw a wave of cases spread across the nation. Its health authorities said this week that the worst is behind it, but experts are wary that it is underreporting numbers, as it has since the start of the pandemic. Now the pullback in testing is a factor, according to the Guardian. Daily tests had dropped to 280,000 by Monday, down from 150 million on Dec. 9, and 7.54 million on Jan. 1. Some provinces had enacted systems for collecting the results of residents or allowing residents to self-report, but the figures were “affected by the willingness of residents to test.”

    What’s seen as the world’s largest annual human migration is under way again in China for the Lunar New Year, after the country lifted pandemic restrictions. WSJ’s Yoko Kubota reports on how it’s expected to boost the economy–and the risk of new Covid-19 outbreaks. Photo: Cfoto/Zuma Press

    • South Korea says it will continue to restrict the entry of short-term travelers from China through the end of February over concerns that the spread of COVID may worsen following the Lunar New Year holidays, the AP reported. South Korea in early January stopped issuing most short-term visas at its consulates in China, citing concerns about the virus surge in the country.

    • Spain is set to end the mandatory use of face masks on public transport nearly three years after the start of the pandemic, the AP reported separately. Spanish Health Minister Carolina Darias said Thursday she would recommend that the government remove the health regulation when the cabinet meets on Feb. 7. Face masks will remain obligatory inside hospitals, health clinics, dentist offices and pharmacies.

    Here’s what the numbers say:

    The global tally of confirmed COVID-19 cases topped 669.9 million Wednesday, while the death toll rose above 6.82 million, according to data aggregated by Johns Hopkins University.

    The U.S. leads the world with 102.3 million cases and 1,107,559 fatalities.

    The CDC’s tracker shows that 229.6 million people living in the U.S., equal to 69.2% of the total population, are fully vaccinated, meaning they have had their primary shots.

    So far, just 51.4 million Americans, equal to 15.5% of the overall population, have had the updated COVID booster that targets both the original virus and the omicron variants.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • WHO calls on China to release more information on its COVID case surge to learn more about which variants are circulating

    WHO calls on China to release more information on its COVID case surge to learn more about which variants are circulating

    [ad_1]

    The World Health Organization has called on China to release more information about its current wave of COVID infections after China said nearly 60,000 people have succumbed to the virus since early December, the Associated Press reported. 

    The announcement of fatality numbers on Saturday came after weeks of complaints that China was not keeping experts abreast of what was happening.

    The announcement “allows for a better understanding of the epidemiological situation,” said a WHO statement. Director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus talked by phone with Health Minister Ma Xiaowei, it said.

    “WHO requested that this type of detailed information continued to be shared with us and the public,” the agency said.

    The National Health Commission said only deaths in hospitals were counted, which means anyone who died at home is not part of the tally. It gave no indication of when or whether it might release updated numbers. China has seen a wave of cases ever since the government ended stringent restrictions on movement in December.

    The WHO is now analyzing the data, which covers early December to Jan. 12. So far, the epidemiology is similar to what has been seen in other countries, “a rapid and intense wave of disease caused by known sub-variants of omicron with higher clinical impact on older people and those with underlying conditions,” said the statement.

     The agency is hoping to get more information on the exact variants that are circulating. China has reported that two omicron sublineages, dubbed BA.5.2 and BF.7 are spreading but the WHO needs more sequences to be shared with open databases to get fully up to date.

    See also: China reports first population drop in decades as birthrates plunge

    Tens of thousands of people resumed travels in and out of China on Sunday as the country lifted almost all of its border restrictions, ending three years of strict pandemic controls. Some travelers expressed relief to be reunited with their families. Photo: Tyrone Siu/Reuters

    In the U.S., the seven-day average of new U.S. COVID cases stood at 59,121 on Monday, according to a New York Times tracker. That’s flat from two weeks ago and below the recent peak of 70,508 on Christmas Eve.

    See also: Americans are facing years of ‘tripledemic’ winters that may put patients with other ailments at risk, Jha says

    The daily average for hospitalizations was down 8% at 45,052. The average for deaths stood at 562, up 78% from two weeks ago to continue the recent trend.

    Coronavirus Update: MarketWatch’s daily roundup has been curating and reporting all the latest developments every weekday since the coronavirus pandemic began

    Other COVID-19 news you should know about:

    • The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said its real-time surveillance system has met the statistical criteria to prompt additional investigation into whether there is a risk of ischemic stroke in people ages 65 and older who received the Pfizer/BioNTech
    PFE,
    -3.70%

    BNTX,
    -1.28%
    bivalent COVID vaccine. “Rapid-response investigation of the signal in the VSD (vaccine safety datalink) raised a question of whether people 65 and older who have received the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine, Bivalent were more likely to have an ischemic stroke in the 21 days following vaccination compared with days 22-42 following vaccination,” the agency said in a statement. No such signal has been identified with the Moderna
    MRNA,
    -0.68%
    bivalent vaccine, it added.

    • Italian tennis player Camila Giorgi has denied allegations that she obtained a false COVID-19 vaccine certificate to allow her to travel, the AP reported. A doctor is under investigation in Italy for supplying false certificates and fake vaccines and Giorgi’s name was revealed in a long list of people implicated by an Italian newspaper. Giorgi is currently competing in the Australian Open.

    Getting the flu can increase the risk of getting a second infection, including strep throat. WSJ’S Daniela Hernandez explains the science behind that, plus what it means for the rest of the winter and how we can protect ourselves from the tripledemic. Illustration: David Fang

    • The New York State Department of Health is “exploring its options” after a state Supreme Court judge struck down a statewide mandate requiring healthcare workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19, the AP reported separately. Judge Gerard Neri wrote in a ruling released Friday that Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul and the health department overstepped their authority by mandating a vaccine that’s not included in state public health law, the Syracuse Post-Standard reported. The mandate is “null, void, and of no effect,” the judge said. He sided with Medical Professionals for Informed Consent, a group of medical workers impacted by the vaccination mandate.

    Here’s what the numbers say:

    The global tally of confirmed cases of COVID-19 topped 667.3 million on Tuesday, while the death toll rose above 6.7 million, according to data aggregated by Johns Hopkins University.

    The U.S. leads the world with 101.7 million cases and 1,099,885 fatalities.

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s tracker shows that 229.4 million people living in the U.S., equal to 69.1% of the total population, are fully vaccinated, meaning they have had their primary shots.

    So far, just 49.6 million Americans, equal to 15.9% of the overall population, have had the updated COVID booster that targets both the original virus and the omicron variants.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Tanking Biotech Stocks Will Mean a Big Year for Deals. Who Could Benefit.

    Tanking Biotech Stocks Will Mean a Big Year for Deals. Who Could Benefit.

    [ad_1]

    Nearly two years after biotechnology stocks began to tumble, executives at small and midsize companies in the space are finally accepting that share prices aren’t bouncing back anytime soon.

    With reality setting in, it’s a buyer’s market for companies looking for acquisitions and partnerships, according to many of the pharmaceutical and medical technology executives who gathered at this year’s


    J.P. Morgan


    healthcare investor conference, which wrapped up in San Francisco on Thursday.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • New COVID subvariant is now dominant across the U.S., accounting for 43% of all new cases in latest week, CDC says

    New COVID subvariant is now dominant across the U.S., accounting for 43% of all new cases in latest week, CDC says

    [ad_1]

    The XBB.1.5 omicron subvariant that has been dominant in the Northeast for several weeks is now officially dominant across the U.S., according to an update from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention early Friday.

    XBB.1.5 accounted for 43% of all COVID cases in the week through Jan. 14, pulling ahead of BQ.1.1, which accounted for 28.8% of new cases, and BQ.1, which accounted for 15.9%, the data showed.

    Last week, BQ.1.1 was still dominant nationwide, accounting for 33.5% of new cases versus XBB.1.5’s 30.4%.

    In the New York region, which includes New Jersey, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, XBB.1.5 now accounts for 82.7% of new cases, up from 72.7% a week ago.

    On Thursday, the World Health Organization acknowledged that XBB.1.5, which was first detected in tiny numbers in the U.S. in October, has become the most transmissible variant yet thanks to a growth advantage, and said that it appears to have a greater ability to evade immunity than earlier variants.

    However, the immune-escape data is based on preliminary lab-based studies and not on research in humans. And with the only data to review coming from the U.S., the agency said there’s no information yet on clinical severity.

    XBB.1.5 is similar to its immediate predecessor XBB.1 but has an additional mutation to its spike protein that may be behind its growth advantage. For now, it does not appear to have any mutation that might lead to more severe disease or death, WHO officials have said. The agency is monitoring it along with five other omicron variants.

    On Friday, the WHO updated guidelines on face masks, treatments and patient care in the age of COVID, a reminder that the pandemic is not yet over, even if people are mostly behaving as if it is. Given current global trends, the agency is recommending that people wear face masks when in public settings that are enclosed or poorly ventilated. People who have been exposed to the virus should also wear masks.

    “Similar to previous recommendations, WHO advises that there are other instances when a mask may be suggested, based on a risk assessment,” the agency said in a statement. “Factors to consider include the local epidemiological trends or rising hospitalization levels, levels of vaccination coverage and immunity in the community, and the setting people find themselves in.”

    The WHO reduced its recommended isolation period for COVID patients and said they can end isolation early if they test negative on a rapid test. Patients with symptoms should isolate for 10 days from the start of symptom onset, but the agency has dropped its advice for an additional three days.

    For asymptomatic patients who test positive, the WHO now recommends five days of isolation, compared with 10 days previously.

    The WHO extended a strong recommendation for the use of Pfizer’s
    PFE,
    +0.29%
    antiviral Paxlovid for patients with mild to moderate symptoms who are at risk of hospitalization.

    The data comes as the seven-day average of new U.S. cases stood at 60,610 on Thursday, according to a New York Times tracker. That’s up 4% from two weeks ago and below the recent peak of 70,508 on Christmas Eve. The daily average for hospitalizations was up 10% to 45,842. The average for deaths was 564, up 61% from two weeks ago. 

    Coronavirus Update: MarketWatch’s daily roundup has been curating and reporting all the latest developments every weekday since the coronavirus pandemic began

    Other COVID-19 news you should know about:

    • The peak of China’s COVID-19 wave is expected to last two to three months and to soon extend over the country’s vast rural areas, where medical resources are relatively scarce, Reuters reported Friday, citing a Chinese epidemiologist. Infections are expected to surge in those areas as hundreds of millions of people travel to their hometowns for the Lunar New Year holiday, which starts Jan. 21. “Our priority focus has been on the large cities. It is time to focus on rural areas,” said Zeng Guang, the former chief epidemiologist at the Chinese Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to a report published in local media outlet Caixin on Thursday.

    • Private services offering Chinese travelers access to mRNA vaccines are attracting droves of mainlanders to Hong Kong and Macau, the Guardian reported on Friday, as people seek a booster shot that their government has refused to approve. The government only allowed its citizens to get homegrown vaccines developed by Sinopac and Sinopharm
    8156,
    +6.45%
    throughout the pandemic, but many people are now seeking the greater protection offered by the mRNA vaccines developed by Moderna
    MRNA,
    +2.10%
    and by Pfizer and German partner BioNTech
    BNTX,
    -2.92%    .

    Tens of thousands of people have resumed travels in and out of China after the country lifted almost all of its border restrictions, ending three years of strict pandemic controls. Photo: Tyrone Siu/Reuters

    • Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly plans to return to work at the Statehouse Friday after learning that a COVID-19 test earlier in the week gave her a false positive result, her office said, the Associated Press reported. Kelly has been working in self-isolation at the governor’s residence since the false positive Tuesday. Her office announced that she had tested positive for COVID-19, and she postponed the annual State of the State address from Wednesday to Jan. 24.

    See also: Sick house: Florida man gets 8 ½ years for using COVID relief to buy lavish 12-acre estate, fleet of luxury cars

    Here’s what the numbers say:

    The global tally of confirmed cases of COVID-19 topped 666.3 million on Friday, while the death toll rose above 6.7 million, according to data aggregated by Johns Hopkins University.

    The U.S. leads the world with 101.6 million cases and 1,099,629 fatalities.

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s tracker shows that 229.4 million people living in the U.S., equal to 69.1% of the total population, are fully vaccinated, meaning they have had their primary shots.

    So far, just 49.6 million Americans, equal to 15.9% of the overall population, have had the updated COVID booster that targets both the original virus and the omicron variants.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • China takes first steps to punish countries that imposed testing mandates for Chinese travelers

    China takes first steps to punish countries that imposed testing mandates for Chinese travelers

    [ad_1]

    China on Tuesday suspended visas for South Koreans to enter the country for tourism or business in apparent retaliation for South Korea’s COVID-19 testing requirements for Chinese travelers, the Associated Press reported.

    No other details were given, although China has threatened to retaliate against countries that require travelers from China to show a negative result for a test taken within the previous 48 hours.

    That has not stopped about a dozen countries from following the U.S. in requiring Chinese travelers produce a test after China lifted most of its strict COVID-related restrictions for the first time since the start of the pandemic. The end of those restrictions has resulted in a surge of new cases.

    The World Health Organization and several nations have accused China of withholding data on its outbreak. The testing requirements are aimed at identifying potential virus variants carried by travelers.

    Separately on Tuesday, the head of the WHO for Europe said the surge of cases in China is not likely to have a big impact on Europe, although he cautioned against complacency.

    Hans Kluge told reporters it was “not unreasonable for countries to take precautionary measures to protect their populations” but called for such measures “to be rooted in science, to be proportionate and nondiscriminatory,” as AFP reported.

    Tens of thousands of people resumed travels in and out of China after the country lifted almost all of its border restrictions, ending three years of strict pandemic controls. Photo: Tyrone Siu/Reuters

    In the U.S., the seven-day average of new cases stood at 67,012 on Monday, according to a New York Times tracker. That’s up 2% from two weeks ago and below the recent peak of 70,508 on Christmas Eve.

    The daily average for hospitalizations was up 18% to 47,503. The average for deaths was 467, up 10% from two weeks ago. 

    Cases are currently rising in 21 states, along with Guam, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. They are led by Florida, where cases are up 90% from two weeks ago. On a per-capita basis, New York, New Jersey and Rhode Island are seeing the highest rates. New York has 37 cases per 100,000 people, New Jersey 35 and Rhode Island 31.

    Coronavirus Update: MarketWatch’s daily roundup has been curating and reporting all the latest developments every weekday since the coronavirus pandemic began

    Other COVID-19 news you should know about:

    • Thailand sent three cabinet ministers to welcome Chinese tourists with flowers and gifts as they arrived Monday at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport after China relaxed travel restrictions, the AP reported. The high-profile event reflected the importance Thailand places on wooing Chinese travelers to help restore its pandemic-battered tourism industry. Before COVID, Chinese visitors accounted for about one-third of all arrivals.

    • Moderna Inc.
    MRNA,
    +3.10%
    is considering pricing its COVID vaccine at $110 to $130 per dose, the Wall Street Journal reported. That’s the same price range as mooted by Pfizer Inc.
    PFE,
    -1.59%
    and German partner BioNTech SE
    BNTX,
    +3.30%
    once their vaccine moves to the commercial market. For now, vaccines are being purchased and distributed by the U.S. government.

    Getting the flu can increase the risk of getting a second infection, such as strep throat. The Wall Street Journal’s Daniela Hernandez explains the science behind that, plus what it means for the rest of the winter and how we can protect ourselves from the tripledemic. Illustration: David Fang

    • India has detected the presence of all the COVID omicron subvariants in the community after testing more than 300 samples since late December, the health ministry said in a statement, Reuters reported. “No mortality or rise in transmission were reported in the areas where these variants were detected,” the ministry said.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Moderna, CureVac and Ocugen offer updates on COVID vaccines, while China cracks down on critics of government’s pandemic response

    Moderna, CureVac and Ocugen offer updates on COVID vaccines, while China cracks down on critics of government’s pandemic response

    [ad_1]

    A flurry of announcements relating to COVID vaccines dominated headlines on the pandemic on Monday, with Moderna telling investors it expects to generate some $5 billion in sales in 2023.

    That’s down from $18.4 billion in sales in 2022. The company plans to boost spending on research and development to $4.5 billion this year, up from $3.3 billion in 2022.

    Moderna
    MRNA,
    +1.79%
    provided the update in advance of the company’s presentation at the annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco.

    Separately, CureVac
    CVAC,
    +24.46%
     said preliminary data from its early stage trial for its COVID and seasonal flu shots had positive results to advance to the next stage of clinical testing.

    CureVac is developing the shots with GlaxoSmithKline
    GSK,
    -0.79%
     
    GSK,
    -0.75%    .
     CureVac said the shot was well tolerated, and that neutralizing antibodies were beginning at the lowest tested dose for younger adults. The seasonal flu shot was also well tolerated with an increase in antibodies compared to those from a flu vaccine comparator in younger adults, CureVac said.

    Ocugen announced positive results in a trial of its COVID vaccine Covaxin, which uses the same vero cell manufacturing platform that has been used in the production of polio vaccines for decades. The Phase 2/3 trial involved 491 U.S. adult participants who received two doses of Covaxin or placebo 28 days apart.

    “Covaxin, an inactivated virus vaccine adjuvanted with TLR7/8 agonist, has been demonstrated in clinical trials to generate a broader immune response against the whole virus covering important antigens such as S-protein, RBD, and N-protein; whereas currently approved vaccines in the U.S. target only S-protein antigen,” the company said in a statement.

    Chief Executive Dr. Shankar Musnuri said the company is hoping the vaccine will offer an option for those who are still hesitant to take an mRNA vaccine, which uses newer technology.

    U.S. cases were lower on Sunday, according to a New York Times tracker. The seven-day average of new cases stood at 67,246, down 1% from two weeks ago.

    The daily average for hospitalizations was up 18% at 47,500., the highest level since last March. The average for deaths was 509, up 19% from two weeks ago.

    Hospitalizations are becoming concerning, according to the Times trackers, with the Northeast seeing the highest per capita rates, along with the Southeast.

    Coronavirus Update: MarketWatch’s daily roundup has been curating and reporting all the latest developments every weekday since the coronavirus pandemic began

    Other COVID-19 news you should know about:

    • China has suspended or closed the social-media accounts of more than 1,000 critics of the government’s COVID response, as the country rolls back harsh anti-virus restrictions and gears up for the coming Lunar New Year holiday, the Associated Press reported. The popular Sina Weibo social media platform said it had addressed 12,854 violations including attacks on experts, scholars and medical workers and issued temporary or permanent bans on 1,120 accounts. The ruling Communist Party had largely relied on the medical community to justify its tough lockdowns, quarantine measures and mass testing, almost all of which it abruptly abandoned last month, leading to a surge in new cases that have stretched medical resources to their limits. The party allows no direct criticism and imposes strict limits on free speech.

    Tens of thousands of people resumed travels in and out of China on Sunday as the country lifted almost all of its border restrictions, ending three years of strict pandemic controls. Some travelers expressed relief to be reunited with their families. Photo: Tyrone Siu/Reuters

    • Pfizer’s
    PFE,
    -4.77%
    antiviral Paxlovid has not been included in the Chinese government’s national reimbursement list that would have allowed patients to get it at a cheaper price throughout the country, saying it was too expensive, the AP reported separately. Although it is supposed to be prescribed by medical professionals, that hasn’t stopped people from scrambling to purchase it on their own through any means at their disposal—including buying generic Indian versions of the drug through the internet, according to local media reports.

    • The union representing a group of nurses at a New York City hospital reached a tentative contract agreement with its management, but close to 9,000 nurses at several other major hospitals were still preparing to go on strike, the AP reported. The New York State Nurses Association and BronxCare Health System said Saturday that a tentative agreement had been reached; the union said it included pay raises every year of its three-year term as well as staffing increases. Another hospital, Flushing Hospital Medical Center, got to a tentative agreement with nurses on Friday evening.

    Here’s what the numbers say:

    The global tally of confirmed cases of COVID-19 topped 664.3 million on Monday, while the death toll rose above 6.7 million, according to data aggregated by Johns Hopkins University.

    The U.S. leads the world with 101.2 million cases and 1,096,523 fatalities.

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s tracker shows that 229.3 million people living in the U.S., equal to 69.1% of the total population, are fully vaccinated, meaning they have had their primary shots.

    So far, just 48.2 million Americans, equal to 15.4% of the overall population, have had the updated COVID booster that targets both the original virus and the omicron variants.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • As EU works to coordinate response to China’s COVID wave, Beijing and airlines are unhappy

    As EU works to coordinate response to China’s COVID wave, Beijing and airlines are unhappy

    [ad_1]

    European Union officials were working Wednesday to coordinate a response to China’s current surge of COVID cases and were likely to agree on travel restrictions that may upset both Beijing and airlines.

    The Chinese government has already slammed the countries that have imposed a COVID test requirement on passengers from China and has threatened countermeasures if more are introduced, the Associated Press reported.  

    EU Commission spokesman Tim McPhie said Wednesday that most EU nations are in favor of testing prior to departure and are seeking an official position later in the day.

    There are concerns that China’s wave may allow for new, potentially more evasive and risky variants of the coronavirus to emerge, although so far, data are showing the variants circulating in China are already in Europe.

    See also: Isolated and humiliated, Russia is biggest geopolitical threat of 2023: Eurasia Group

    On Wednesday the International Air Transport Association, which represents some 300 airlines worldwide, lent its powerful voice to the protests.

    “It is extremely disappointing to see this knee-jerk reinstatement of measures that have proven ineffective over the last three years,” said IATA Director General Willie Walsh.

    “Research undertaken around the arrival of the omicron variant concluded that putting barriers in the way of travel made no difference to the peak spread of infections. At most, restrictions delayed that peak by a few days,” Walsh said.

    EU nations are also expected to agree to test wastewater from planes flying in from China to determine whether it contains variants that are not yet prevalent in Europe.

    As China reopens after nearly three years of isolation, the U.S. and several other countries will require travelers to show a negative COVID test. The Wall Street Journal explains why some pandemic restrictions are back and what they mean for people traveling to and from China. Photo: Nicola Marfisi/Avalon via ZUMA Press

    In the U.S., the seven-day average for new COVID cases has continued to fall and stood at 60,417 on Tuesday, according to a New York Times tracker. That’s down 10% from two weeks ago and below the recent peak of 70,508 on Christmas Eve.

    The daily average for hospitalizations was up 8% to 44,504. The average for deaths was 310, down 24% from two weeks ago.

    The New York Times tracker notes there is reason to believe current case and death counts could be artificially low, as the people who track those numbers take time off around the Christmas and New Year’s holidays. Hospitalization data are not typically affected by holiday reporting breaks.

    The number of patients with COVID in intensive-care units rose 11% in two weeks, to 5,350. Meanwhile, the test-positivity rate climbed to 16% and has increased by 25% over the past two weeks. Higher test-positivity rates suggest many new COVID cases are not being counted, as results of at-home testing may not be reported to case trackers. 

    Overall, cases are currently rising in 17 states, led by Mississippi, where they have climbed 78% from two weeks ago. Measured on a per-capita basis, New Jersey and New York are faring the worst, along with several southern states, including Virginia, Mississippi and South Carolina.

    Coronavirus Update: MarketWatch’s daily roundup has been curating and reporting all the latest developments every weekday since the coronavirus pandemic began

    Other COVID-19 news you should know about:

    • Shares of Lucira Health Inc.
    LHDX,
    -29.03%
    more than quadrupled Tuesday after it submitted an application for emergency-use authorization to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for over-the-counter use of a molecular COVID-19 and flu test, Dow Jones Newswires reported. The test was granted emergency-use authorization for point-of-care use in a healthcare setting in November. The company now “intends to make the test broadly available to consumers both online as well as in pharmacies.”

    • Salesforce Inc.
    CRM,
    +3.57%
    has become the latest big tech player to say it hired too aggressively during the COVID pandemic; it is now planning to lay off about 10% of its workforce, MarketWatch’s Emily Bary reported. The company will also exit some real estate and cut back on office space, it disclosed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The plan is aimed at reducing operating costs, boosting operating margins and driving “profitable growth.” “As our revenue accelerated through the pandemic, we hired too many people leading into this economic downturn we’re now facing, and I take responsibility for that,” the company’s co-chief executive, Marc Benioff, said in a letter to employees that was also filed with the SEC. The company had 73,541 employees as of Jan. 31, 2022, according to its last annual filing with the SEC.

    Read: Here are the companies in the layoffs spotlight; Salesforce joins Intel, Google, HP, Amazon, Cisco

    The recent headlines about tech layoffs don’t seem to match broader economic indicators, which show a strong job market and a historically low unemployment rate. The Wall Street Journal’s Gunjan Banerji explains the disconnect. Illustration: Ali Larkin

    • Pfizer Inc.
    PFE,
    -2.20%
    has gone from being a COVID darling to a “show-me” launch story, according to Bank of America analysts, who downgraded the stock to neutral from buy on Wednesday, citing declining COVID revenues and uncertainty about how new products will perform. Analysts are expecting revenue from Pfizer’s COVID vaccine Comirnaty and its antiviral Paxlovid to decline by about $32 billion from 2022, wider than the consensus number of a decline of $25 billion. “While new launches can partially address the $17 billion LOE (loss of exclusivity) hole in 2025 to 2030, longer term growth is unclear,” the analysts wrote in a note to clients.

    Here’s what the numbers say:

    The global tally of confirmed cases of COVID-19 topped 666.8 million on Tuesday, while the death toll rose above 6.69 million, according to data aggregated by Johns Hopkins University.

    The U.S. leads the world with 100.8 million cases and 1,094,010 fatalities.

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s tracker shows that 229.1 million people living in the U.S., equal to 69% of the total population, are fully vaccinated, meaning they have had their primary shots.

    So far, just 47 million Americans have had the updated COVID booster that targets the original virus and the omicron variants, equal to 15.1% of the overall population.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Tesla stock wipes out three-day bounce, falls to lowest price in more than 2 years

    Tesla stock wipes out three-day bounce, falls to lowest price in more than 2 years

    [ad_1]

    It has taken just one day for Tesla Inc.’s stock to erase the entire bounce it enjoyed over the last three days trading sessions of 2022, as disappointing deliveries data helped trigger the biggest selloff in more than two years.

    The stock’s
    TSLA,
    -12.24%
    Tuesday drop knocked the electric vehicle maker’s market capitalization to 15th on the list of most valuation S&P 500 index companies.

    On Tuesday, Tesla’s market cap fell below that of consumer products company Procter & Gamble Co.
    PG,
    +0.01%    ,
    with a current market cap of $359.18 billion, and was just below Nvidia Corp.
    NVDA,
    -2.05%
    at $352.15 billion, according to FactSet data. Tesla sat just above Chevron Corp.
    CVX,
    -3.06%    ,
    which was at $336.43 billion. (See list of S&P 500’s 20 most valuable companies as of Tuesday’s closing prices below.)

    Tesla’s stock took a $15.08, or 12.2% dive, to $108.10 on Tuesday, to lead the S&P 500’s
    SPX,
    -0.40%
    decliners, after the company reported over the weekend that fourth-quarter deliveries that came up short of expectations for the third quarter in a row. It suffered the biggest one-day decline since it plummeted 21.1% on Sept. 8, 2020, and closed at the lowest price since Aug. 13, 2020.

    Don’t miss: Tesla delivery-target miss shows ‘demand cracks clearly happening’ that mean ‘numbers could be materially reset’ for coming years, analysts write.

    With about 3.16 billion shares outstanding as of Oct. 18, the stock’s decline shaved about $47.62 billion off Tesla’s market cap, to bring it down to $341.35 billion. That’s a far cry from the peak market cap of $1.24 trillion reached exactly one-year ago.

    After the stock hit the deepest oversold reading in its history based on the widely followed Relative Strength Index momentum indicator on Dec. 27, following the longest losing streak in more than four years, it ran up $14.08, or 12.9%, over the past three days.

    If there’s a bright side to Tuesday’s stock selloff, it’s that even though the price fell below the Dec. 27 closing price, the RSI ended the day at 24.86, which is up from the Dec. 27 record low of 16.56.

    That could be a preliminary sign of what chart watchers call “bullish technical divergence,” which is when prices make lower lows while the RSI makes a higher low. It’s still rather early to make that determination, however, as the stock needs to start bouncing again to see if RSI bottoms above the previous low.

    Market caps of the Top 20 most valuable S&P 500 companies:

    [ad_2]

    Source link