Bullish option flow was detected in PFE stock on December 15, 2021, after a BofA analyst said he expects more acquisitions from Pfizer.
♉ Bullish Option Flow
Bullish option flow was detected in Pfizer PFE stock with 101,650 calls trading, 2x expected, and implied vol increasing over 1 point to 34.77%. Dec-21 $57 calls and Jan-22 $60 calls were the most active options, with total volume in those strikes near 26,700 contracts.
Make sure to review this lesson on option flow so that you understand the image above.
BofA expects ‘more of the same’ from Pfizer after Arena deal
BofA analyst Geoff Meacham notes that markets reacted favorably to Pfizer’s (PFE) announcement of an agreement to acquire Arena Pharmaceuticals (ARNA) for $6.7B, which he said uses the company’s “COVID cash” to help smooth its coming loss of exclusivity patent cliff. While Arena and its etrasimod should contribute to easing the patent cliffs looming in the second half of the decade, there “remains significant work to be done,” said Meacham, who would “expect more of the same” from Pfizer. Meacham keeps a Neutral rating on Pfizer shares with a $54 price target, up from $48 previously.
Dr. Fauci says no need for variant-specific COVID booster
When speaking at the White House COVID Response Team briefing, Dr. Fauci said, “Our booster vaccine regimens work against omicron – at this time there’s no need for a variant-specific booster.”
U.S. FDA Approves Pfizer’s XELJANZ® (tofacitinib) for the Treatment of Active Ankylosing Spondylitis
On December 14, 2021, Pfizer announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) for XELJANZ® / XELJANZ® XR (tofacitinib) for the treatment of adults with active ankylosing spondylitis (AS) who have had an inadequate response or intolerance to one or more tumor necrosis factor (TNF) blockers.
“We are proud to offer XELJANZ, a treatment option for ankylosing spondylitis that does not require an injection or an infusion, to treat this debilitating and chronic immuno-inflammatory disease,” said Mike Gladstone, Global President, Inflammation & Immunology, Pfizer. “This regulatory approval affirms the clinical value and versatility of XELJANZ, the first and only Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor approved for five indications in the United States for the treatment of patients with certain immuno-inflammatory conditions.”
The approval of XELJANZ for AS is based on data from a Phase 3, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study that evaluated the efficacy and safety of tofacitinib 5 mg twice daily versus placebo in 269 adult patients living with active AS. The study met its primary endpoint showing that at week 16, the percentage of patients achieving an Assessment in SpondyloArthritis international Society (ASAS)20 response was significantly greater with tofacitinib (56.4%, n= 75) versus placebo (29.4%, n=40) (p<0.0001). In addition, the percentage of patients achieving an ASAS40 response was significantly greater with tofacitinib (40.6%, n=54) versus placebo (12.5%, n=17) (p<0.0001), a key secondary endpoint of the study.1 ASAS20/40 are used for defining improvement or response to treatment.2 The safety profile observed in patients with AS treated with XELJANZ was consistent with the safety profile observed in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA) patients.
“Ankylosing spondylitis, a type of arthritis that causes inflammation in certain parts of the spine, affects more than 350,000 people in the U.S.3 This disease often occurs in early adulthood and causes pain, swelling and possibly restricted mobility,”4 said Steven Taylor, Executive Vice President, Mission and Strategic Initiatives of the Arthritis Foundation. “With this approval, physicians and patients now have an additional oral treatment option that can help address this chronic and often progressive disease.”
Study shows Pfizer shot 70% protective against omicron hospitalization, AP says
On December 14, 2021, according to an analysis conducted by Discovery Health, South Africa’s largest private health insurer, and the South African Medical Research Council, Pfizer (PFE) and BioNTech’s (BNTX) COVID-19 vaccine appears to offer less defense against omicron variant infection, though it still provides good protection from hospitalization, the Associated Press’ Andrew Meldrum reports. While the findings are still preliminary and have yet to be peer-reviewed, they appear consistent with other early data about the new variant’s behavior, including that it seems to be more easily transmitted will causing less-severe disease than previous variants, the author notes. Source: https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2021-12-14/study-pfizer-covid-vaccine-protect-hospitalization-omicron
📈 PFE Stock Technical Analysis
Both the short term and long term trends are positive. This is a very positive sign. PFE is part of the Pharmaceuticals industry. There are 256 other stocks in this industry. PFE outperforms 95% of them. A new 52 week high is currently being made by PFE, which is a very good signal! Especially since the S&P500 is only trading in the upper part of its 52 week range, so PFE is leading the market. Prices have been rising strongly lately, it may be a good idea to wait for a consolidation or pullback before considering an entry. There is a support zone ranging from 52.41 to 53.22. This zone is formed by a combination of multiple trend lines and important moving averages in multiple time frames. Although PFE has an excellent technical rating, the quality of the presented setup is not ideal at the moment. Price movement has been a little bit too volatile to find a nice entry and exit point. It is probably a good idea to wait for a consolidation first. Click here to sign up for email alerts on when PFE stock is a good long entry.
