Shares of COVID-19 Vaccine Makers Fall After Pfizer CFO Warns of Outlook 'Haircut'

By
Bill McColl
Bill McColl
Full Bio

Bill McColl has 25+ years of experience as a senior producer and writer for TV, radio, and digital media leading teams of anchors, reporters, and editors in creating news broadcasts, covering some of the most notable news stories of the time.

Learn about our editorial policies
Published September 18, 2023
Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine

Matt Hunt / Getty Images

Key Takeaways

  • Shares of vaccine makers dropped after Pfizer CFO David Denton said the outlook for vaccine rates this year got a "haircut."
  • Denton told a conference that Pfizer anticipates a 24% U.S. vaccination rate this year.
  • Denton had said previously the company would take steps to cut costs if COVID-19 vaccine revenue missed expectations.

Moderna (MRNA) was the worst-performing stock in the S&P 500 as shares dropped 9% after Pfizer CFO David Denton said the outlook for vaccine rates this year got a significant "haircut." Pfizer (PFE) shares also dropped, declining 1%.

Denton told a J.P. Morgan healthcare conference that Pfizer expects a 24% vaccination rate in the U.S. this year, which equates to about 82 million injections. Moderna has estimated a range of 50 million to 100 million.

Last week, Moderna and Pfizer, along with Pfizer’s partner BioNTech (BNTX), received Food and Drug Administration (FDA) emergency use authorization for a new vaccine that targets currently circulating variants of the virus.

Denton added that the COVID-19 vaccine rate prediction is about half of that of the flu, so “we haircut that pretty significantly for the year.” He noted that the company will “see how that plays out as we look at the trends in the coming weeks in the U.S. and globally from that perspective.”

Demand for COVID-19 shots has plunged as the pandemic waned and after millions had already been vaccinated. Last month, Denton noted that if COVID-19 vaccine sales were less than Pfizer assumed, “we are prepared to launch an enterprise-wide cost improvement program aligned with the longer-term revenue projections for our business.”

American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) of BioNTech also fell 3.8% following the news.

MRNA, PFE, BNTX

YCharts
Do you have a news tip for Investopedia reporters? Please email us at
Article Sources
Investopedia requires writers to use primary sources to support their work. These include white papers, government data, original reporting, and interviews with industry experts. We also reference original research from other reputable publishers where appropriate. You can learn more about the standards we follow in producing accurate, unbiased content in our editorial policy.

  1. REFINITIV STREETEVENTS. "EDITED TRANSCRIPT."

  2. Food and Drug Administration. "FDA Takes Action on Updated mRNA COVID-19 Vaccines to Better Protect Against Currently Circulating Variants."

  3. Pfizer. "Second-Quarter 2023 Earnings Conference Call Prepared Remarks August 1, 2023."

Take the Next Step to Invest
×
The offers that appear in this table are from partnerships from which Investopedia receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where listings appear. Investopedia does not include all offers available in the marketplace.