What Happened?
Shares of global pharmaceutical company Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) fell 3.5% in the afternoon session after reports revealed federal health officials are planning to link COVID-19 vaccines to the deaths of children.
The decline followed a Washington Post story stating that officials intend to present data to advisors for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) connecting the vaccines to 25 child deaths. This development has heightened investor concerns about vaccine manufacturers, including Pfizer, BioNTech, and Moderna, which also saw their shares fall. The negative sentiment builds on recent headwinds for the sector, as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) imposed new restrictions in late August, limiting the next round of vaccines to people over 65 or those with qualifying health conditions.
The shares closed the day at $23.88, down 3.9% from previous close.
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What Is The Market Telling Us
Pfizer’s shares are not very volatile and have only had 2 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful, although it might not be something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The biggest move we wrote about over the last year was 5 months ago when the stock dropped 5.3% as stocks gave back some of the gains from the previous day as the White House clarified the tariffs on imports from China would add up to 145%, while the baseline 10% tariffs remained in place for most countries.
This added layer of uncertainty reminded investors that the global trade environment remained volatile, limiting the potential for sustained market gains. Also President Trump said he was willing to accept pain in the short term, and was aware his policies could cause a recession, but he remained more mindful of a more severe case of economic depression (higher unemployment and prolonged downturn). For investors, this suggested that the administration could prioritize long-term structural shifts over near-term economic stability, further increasing policy-driven risk in the markets.
Pfizer is down 10.1% since the beginning of the year, and at $23.92 per share, it is trading 20.8% below its 52-week high of $30.19 from October 2024. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Pfizer’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $646.31.
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