Pfizer stock hit a trifecta on Tuesday after the company followed a beat-and-raise earnings report showing promising results for a respiratory vaccine for unborn children.
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The vaccine is given to pregnant women and is intended to prevent newborns from becoming seriously infected with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). RSV cases are currently increasing. In the final phase study, the vaccine protected 81.8% against severe RSV in the first 90 days of life of the infant and 69.4% in the first 6 months of life.
If approved, this would be the first maternal vaccine against RSV designed to protect babies. Pfizer (PFE) in a press release.
In today’s trading, Pfizer shares are up 3.1% to 48.01. According to MarketSmith.com, shares are now well above their 50-day moving average and approaching their 200-day moving average.
Pfizer Stock: Earnings Rise While Sales Fall
In the third quarter, Pfizer’s adjusted earnings rose 40% to $1.78 per share and revenue fell 6% to $22.64 billion. Both of these metrics easily beat FactSet’s guidance for adjusted earnings per share of $1.39 on sales of $21.07 billion.
Sales included $4.4 billion from Comirnaty, Pfizer’s BioNTech (BNTX) partner Covid shot dead. As expected, sales of the Covid vaccine plummeted as demand slacked. Vaccine revenue plummeted 66%. Meanwhile, Covid treatment drug Paxlovid posted sales of $7.51 billion.
Beyond those Covid products, sales of Pfizer’s second-biggest product surged. Blood thinner Eliquis posted sales of $1.46 billion, up 9%. Sales of Prevnar, a pneumonia vaccine, rose 11% to $1.61 billion.
But cancer drug Ibrance brought in just $1.28 billion, down 7%.
Pfizer has raised its guidance for 2022 and is now forecasting adjusted earnings per share of $6.40 to $6.50 and revenue of $99.5 billion to $102 billion. The revenue number includes expectations of $34 billion from Comirnaty and $22 billion from Paxlovid.
Pfizer equity analysts polled by FactSet were expecting adjusted earnings per share of $6.40 and revenue of $99.66 billion.
Follow Allison Gatlin on Twitter at @IBD_AGatlin.
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