Pfizer Market Cap Surged by $26B After UK Authorized the Use of its COVID-19 Vaccine

The coronavirus pandemic put enormous pressure on the pharmaceutical industry, forcing pharma 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 presented by Stock Apps, the market capitalization of the US multinational pharmaceutical corporation surged by more than $26bn since the UK announced the use of its vaccine.

Recovery After Stock Market Crash in March

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

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

Although Pfizer’s stock price slightly increased in the third quarter, with the market cap rising to almost $204bn in September, it was still $12bn below 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 3 trial of the vaccine showed it was 95% effective in preventing infections, and the UK has ordered 40 million doses of the vaccine, enough to vaccinate 20 million people.

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

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

Pfizer YTD Revenue Plunged by $3B

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

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

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

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 $35.9bn, a $3bn drop year-over-year.