Pfizer Inc. Stock Rise Due to Executive Meeting

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) shares rose over 3% on Wednesday, following reports that CEO Albert Bourla will meet with executives from activist hedge fund Starboard Value next week.

The news, reported by the Financial Times, comes after a recent Reuters report indicated that Starboard has taken a stake of approximately $1 billion in Pfizer and is advocating for changes to revitalize the company's performance.

The meeting will include Pfizer's lead independent director, Shantanu Narayen, who also serves as CEO of Adobe Systems (NASDAQ:ADBE), along with discussions featuring Starboard’s CEO Jeff Smith and Patrick Sullivan, head of healthcare investments.

These discussions aim to address concerns raised by Starboard concerning Pfizer's struggles to regain momentum following its pandemic-related success.

Since Bourla's appointment in 2019, Pfizer has faced challenges, particularly with declining revenues linked to reduced sales from COVID-19 products.

Despite spending around $70 billion on acquisitions since 2020, including the notable $43 billion purchase of Seagen, Pfizer has yet to find a new product to offset the revenue lost from its COVID vaccine and treatment pill.

Recent product launches have underperformed expectations, including a lackluster rollout of its respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine and disappointing clinical data from an obesity pill in development.

While specifics of Starboard's recommendations remain unclear, their involvement indicates a push for strategic changes at Pfizer.

In a recent client note, Truist updated its models for Pfizer ahead of its earnings release, primarily adjusting revenues based on script tracking data and seasonality regarding Pfizer's vaccine portfolio.

> “We now model 3Q24E total revenue of $15.0B vs $16.2B prior and 3Q24 adj. EPS of $0.48 vs. $0.50 prior,” said the firm.