What happened
Shares of Pfizer (PFE +1.94%) were sinking 4.4% as of 11:18 a.m. ET on Tuesday. The big drugmaker didn't report any new developments. Today's decline appears to be a by-product of the overall market rising after a pullback in recent days due to concerns about the spread of the coronavirus omicron variant.
When COVID-19 fears decrease, Pfizer's shares are more likely to fall. That's because the company generates a significant portion of its revenue from COVID-19 vaccine sales. While other leading vaccine stocks were also sliding today, Pfizer was hit the hardest -- probably because its shares have risen the most over the past few weeks.
Image source: Getty Images.
So what
The reality is that little has changed in the expectations about the impact of the omicron variant since Monday when Pfizer's shares rose while many stocks were dropping. As such, little has changed about Pfizer's prospects. Today's move is probably more noise than anything else.
What isn't noise, though, is that the European Commission just exercised its option to buy another 200 million doses of Pfizer's and BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine for delivery in 2022. The two companies announced the deal yesterday.
Now what
Investors will definitely want to monitor how the efficacy of Pfizer's vaccine with a booster dose fares against the omicron variant. If the efficacy wanes, it could lead to new orders for the omicron-specific vaccine version that Pfizer and BioNTech are developing.
In the meantime, Pfizer anticipates regulatory decisions in the near future for its COVID-19 pill Paxlovid. The oral therapy should be another huge commercial success for Pfizer beginning in 2022.
