Pfizer
PFE
comprises six business units — Oncology, Inflammation & Immunology, Rare Disease, Hospital, Vaccines and Internal Medicine.
Oncology sales are likely to have risen in the first quarter, driven by higher sales of Inlyta and alliance revenues from Astellas for Xtandi. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the sales of Inlyta is $279 million while the same for Xtandi alliance revenues is $300 million.
Ibrance sales are likely to have declined in the United States due to an increase in the proportion of patients using Pfizer’s Patient Assistance Program (provides Ibrance free of charge to certain low-income patients) due to COVID-related economic hardships in the United States. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for sales of Ibrance (worldwide) is $1.37 billion.
In the non-oncology area, sales and alliance revenues from partner
BioNTech
BNTX
for COVID-19 vaccine, Comirnaty and Pfizer’s oral antiviral pill for COVID, Paxlovid are expected to have been key contributors to Pfizer’s sales in the first quarter. Sales of Paxlovid are expected to have been significantly higher than $76 million recorded in the fourth quarter, which was the first quarter of its launch. Paxlovid was approved in the United States in December 2021 and has already received emergency or conditional authorization for use in certain populations in approximately 50 countries.
Sales of Pfizer/BioNTech’s Comirnaty could be lower than $12.5 million recorded in the fourth quarter of 2021 with the impact of the pandemic receding.
Pfizer’s stock has declined 16.2% this year so far against an increase of 4.5% for the
industry
.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Alliance revenues from
Bristol-Myers
BMY
for Eliquis are likely to have provided top-line support. Continued increased adoption in nonvalvular atrial fibrillation as well as oral anticoagulant market share gains might have benefited alliance revenues from Bristol-Myers for Eliquis sales in the first quarter. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for alliance revenues from BMY for Eliquis is $1.77 billion.
Sales of Prevnar 13/Prevenar 13 vaccine in the fourth quarter of 2021 were hurt due to the unfavorable timing of government purchases ín the pediatric indication and ongoing prioritization of primary and booster vaccination campaigns for COVID-19 in the United States. It remains to be seen if the sales trends improved in the first quarter. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for global sales of Prevnar 13/Prevenar 13 vaccine is $1.34 billion.
In addition, new brands such as Vyndaqel/Vyndamax and new oncology biosimilars (Trazimera, Zirabev and Ruxience) should bring in additional sales. It remains to be seen if sterile injectables global revenues improved in the first quarter of 2022 after declining in the fourth quarter of 2021.
Sales of some key drugs like Sutent and Enbrel in international markets are likely to have declined in the first quarter, continuing the trend of the past few quarters. While Sutent sales are expected to have been hurt due to the loss of exclusivity, sales of Enbrel in key European markets and Japan are likely to have been hurt due to biosimilar competition. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for sales of Enbrel is $265 million.
Zacks Rank and Stock to Consider
Pfizer currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).You can see
the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here
.
A drug/biotech worth considering is
Vertex Pharmaceuticals
VRTX
, which has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Vertex Pharmaceuticals’ stock has risen 24.4% this year. Estimates for Vertex Pharmaceuticals’ 2022 earnings have gone up from $14.52 to $14.56 per share, while those for 2023 have increased from $15.31 to $15.35 per share over the past 30 days.
Vertex Pharmaceuticals’ earnings performance has been strong, with the company beating expectations in each of the last four quarters. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a four-quarter earnings surprise of 10.01%, on average.
Just Released: Zacks’ 7 Best Stocks for Today
Experts extracted 7 stocks from the list of 220 Zacks Rank #1 Strong Buys that has beaten the market more than 2X over with a stunning average gain of +25.4% per year.
These 7 were selected because of their superior potential for immediate breakout.
See these time-sensitive tickers now >>
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.
Click to get this free report
