Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) is offering a dividend yield of roughly 6% today. That is well above the roughly 1% yield on offer from the S&P 500 index (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) and the 1.4% average yield of pharmaceutical stocks. There are good reasons for the negative view of Pfizer, but investors may be ignoring the company's over 100-year history of success. Here's why you may want to consider buying this out-of-favor dividend stock while others are fearful.
Pfizer's stock rocketed higher during the coronavirus pandemic, as investors myopically focused on the company's COVID vaccine. When COVID turned out to be a less serious long-term threat than originally believed, Wall Street dumped Pfizer. At this point, the stock is down more than 50% from its 2021 high. That is a big part of the story behind the high yield.
Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a "Double Down" signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same "Total Conviction" signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue »
However, there's another piece that is more fundamental to the pharmaceutical industry. Like all drug makers, Pfizer's drugs receive time-limited patent protections. When patents expire, generic versions of the medications can be produced. That generally leads to a dramatic decline in revenue from Pfizer's drugs. Right now, Pfizer is facing down some notable patent expirations. This is a completely normal dynamic in the pharmaceutical sector.
Patent expirations are why drug companies are always on the lookout for new drugs. The problem is that patent expirations follow a set schedule, but drug development does not. Pfizer's drug pipeline isn't producing major new drugs right now, and it looks like it may have to work through a period in which new drugs won't fully offset revenue lost to patent expirations. This isn't uncommon, either, but investors are likely focusing on the short term rather than the long term when it comes to Pfizer.
#patent #yield #drug #expirations
Pfizer's stock rocketed higher during the coronavirus pandemic, as investors myopically focused on the company's COVID vaccine. When COVID turned out to be a less serious long-term threat than originally believed, Wall Street dumped Pfizer. At this point, the stock is down more than 50% from its 2021 high. That is a big part of the story behind the high yield.
Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a "Double Down" signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same "Total Conviction" signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue »
However, there's another piece that is more fundamental to the pharmaceutical industry. Like all drug makers, Pfizer's drugs receive time-limited patent protections. When patents expire, generic versions of the medications can be produced. That generally leads to a dramatic decline in revenue from Pfizer's drugs. Right now, Pfizer is facing down some notable patent expirations. This is a completely normal dynamic in the pharmaceutical sector.
Patent expirations are why drug companies are always on the lookout for new drugs. The problem is that patent expirations follow a set schedule, but drug development does not. Pfizer's drug pipeline isn't producing major new drugs right now, and it looks like it may have to work through a period in which new drugs won't fully offset revenue lost to patent expirations. This isn't uncommon, either, but investors are likely focusing on the short term rather than the long term when it comes to Pfizer.
#patent #yield #drug #expirations
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