Shrewd investors know that bear markets open up great opportunities to pick up shares of excellent companies from the discount bin. However, even in a bull market, like the one we're currently experiencing, it's possible to find attractive companies to invest in at attractive prices.
For that, look no further than the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer (PFE 1.10%). The drugmaker has significantly lagged the market in the past three years. But at its current levels, Pfizer might be a steal for long-term investors. Here's why.
Pfizer's coronavirus business still matters
It's no secret why Pfizer has not performed well recently. It couldn't maintain the success in the COVID-19 space it had a few years ago. Pfizer's annual sales peaked at above $100 billion in 2022, only to fall by more than 40% the following year:
PFE Revenue (Annual) data by YCharts.
However, Pfizer's work in COVID-19 happened amid an extreme worldwide emergency. The company was never going to keep up those sales year in and year out.
Beyond the massive decline in sales from its coronavirus portfolio, Pfizer has faced other issues leading to lower revenue, including competition for some of its products. Some of its legacy medicines, such as cancer drug Ibrance and immunosuppressant Enbrel, are seeing their sales move in the wrong direction.
The headwinds with older products are issues the company would be facing even without its success in the COVID area -- but it would have far less money in the bank and would be generating less revenue.
In fact, Pfizer's coronavirus-related sales remain pretty strong. In 2024, the company generated $5.7 billion in sales from its COVID medicine Paxlovid, compared to $1.2 billion in 2023. And Pfizer racked up $5.4 billion from its vaccine, Comirnaty, although that decreased 52% compared to the year-ago period. Still, these products can meaningfully impact Pfizer's financial results; $11.1 billion in total sales is still nothing to sneeze at these days.
NYSE: PFE
Key Data Points
There will be progress elsewhere
Pfizer significantly expanded its lineup and pipeline in recent years, largely thanks to its coronavirus-related work. The drugmaker has earned approval for many brand-new products, including a vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), Abrysvo, and a medicine for alopecia areata, Litfulo.
While these aren't making a meaningful impact yet, Pfizer has more tricks up its sleeve. Its pipeline features 115 candidates across all clinical trial stages and dozens of studies.
In oncology alone, the company is running more than 20 late-stage studies. Pfizer was already a notable player in oncology before its $43 billion acquisition of Seagen, a drugmaker with a significant footprint in the field. We have yet to witness the results of this merger, but expect Pfizer to develop several cancer medicines that will generate over $1 billion in annual sales in the next few years.
The company has exciting programs elsewhere, including several promising vaccine pipeline candidates. Revenue will eventually improve as the company rolls out new products.
Pfizer is also hoping to improve its business by reducing expenses and costs. It plans on delivering net cost savings of $4.5 billion by the end of 2025, after achieving savings of $4 billion last year. The bottom line should benefit from these cost-cutting measures.
The price is right
Pfizer's forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio is around 9 at this writing. For reference, the average for the healthcare industry was recently 17.7.
PFE PE Ratio (Forward) data by YCharts.
Perhaps Pfizer's lower valuation is justified considering the issues it's faced in recent years, but the company is setting up a strong foundation for the future that should pay off eventually. To boot, its shares offer a generous 6.5% dividend yield. So its shares look attractive right now, but only for investors willing to be patient.
Pfizer may not fully bounce back in the next six or 12 months -- perhaps not even in the next two years. But the stock still has what it takes to deliver solid returns over long periods, making it an excellent pick at current levels.
