Pfizer CEO Bourla Offloads $5.6M In Stock In Preplanned Sale Amid Vaccine Rally

Pfizer Inc. PFE shares rose to a 52-week high of $41.99 Monday thanks to strong late-stage interim readout for the mRNA vaccine candidate BNT162b2 the company is co-developing with its German partner BioNTech SE – ADR BNTX.

Some insider stock sales at the company are coinciding with the strong upward move. 

Pfizer Insiders Sell $7.4M In Stock: Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla disposed 132,508 shares at an average price of $41.94, netting about $5.56 million, according to a Tuesday filing. 

The sale was accordance to the SEC Rule 16b-3 plan, which allows insiders to sell shares if it is a routine transaction pursuant to specified tax-conditioned plan, or if the shares have been acquired through grants or awards. 

Bourla's sale was scheduled and preapproved in August.

Although the sale reported Tuesday was in accordance with a pre-approved plan, his other stock sales over the last few months involved moving shares under Pfizer's corporate supplemental savings plan, Endpoints News reported.

Related Link: Attention Biotech Investors: Mark Your Calendar For These November PDUFA Dates

A separate filing revealed that Sally Susman, Pfizer's chief corporate officer, sold 43,662 shares at the same price as Bourla's sale. Susman pocketed $1.83 million. 

Why It's Important: COVID-19 vaccine developers have seen their shares surge on incremental positive news about the development process. 

Executives at some of these companies have engaged in insider selling, which has raised questions about the credibility of the vaccine programs.

This is also likely to dent confidence among investors and public, who are already skeptical of warming to vaccines developed in expedited timeline.

PFE Price Action: At last check, Pfizer shares were down 1.03% at $38.28.

Related Link: The Week Ahead In Biotech: Supernus, Sanofi Await FDA Decisions