3 Potential Catalysts That Could Lift Pfizer Stock Before 2025

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With the total return of Pfizer‘s (NYSE: PFE) shares rising by just 1.9% this year so far, investors may be yearning for some kind of catalyst that will stimulate its stock price to rise at a better pace.

They’re in luck. Three such catalysts are coming in the next couple of months (likely before 2025 starts) that could precipitate some market movement for the stock. Let’s take a look at each.

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As you’ve probably heard, the market for anti-obesity medicines is the hottest in biopharma right now. Pfizer’s most advanced candidate, a molecule called danuglipron, has had a rough go at it, with middling efficacy and several worse-than-anticipated clinical trial readouts. Still, an earlier-stage program recently concluded its phase 1 trials, and it could easily constitute a catalyst for the stock price.

Not much about the program has been disclosed as of yet. However, its mechanism of action appears to partially overlap with a candidate called MariTide that’s being developed by Amgen. That makes Pfizer’s program fairly unusual in the weight loss drug space, though that difference is no guarantee of success or of greater efficacy compared to the market’s leaders. The phase 2 clinical trial is expected to start before the close of 2024.

For now, be on the lookout for that phase 1 trial data. The company may not choose to publish it even if the results are favorable. But any new information could give investors a bit more confidence in the drug candidate’s ability to find market share if it’s eventually approved for sale, which would buoy the stock.

The chief scientific officer (CSO) is one of the most important C-suite roles in any biopharma organization. Pfizer’s CSO is stepping down after a 15-year tenure. Management says its executive search process is approaching culmination, and that it will make an announcement relatively soon.

Appointing a new CSO is likely to be a catalyst for the stock for several reasons. The biggest is that for a pharmaceutical business, nearly all strategic-level research and development (R&D) pipeline decisions are under the purview of the CSO. This executive has the most influence on selecting which disease areas to compete in, which physiological targets to pursue within those areas, and which technologies to use for optimal efficiency.

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