Pfizer CEO Sold Shares Worth $5.6M On The Day Company Unveiled Promising COVID-19 Drug

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla sold nearly 60% of his stock in the company the day it announced promising efficacy rates of its COVID-19 vaccine in clinical trials.

The shares of Pfizer and BioNTech surged when preliminary data from their drug tests revealed a more than 90% efficacy rate.

Bourla sold as many as 132,508 Pfizer shares at a price of $41.94, which brings the total sale to nearly $5.6 million, according to the company’s filing with the SEC. The 52-week high for Pfizer’s stock is $41.99, which means Bourla sold the shares at almost its highest price.

Reports suggest that this sale was part of a preapproved plan under which major shareholders and members of listed corporations trade a ‘predetermined’ number of shares at a decided time.

A CNN report quotes a Pfizer spokesperson saying that the sale of shares happened because the stock hit a predetermined price as part of a plan managed by third-party stock administrators, signed off by Bourla on Aug. 19.

On Monday, Sally Susman, executive vice president at Pfizer, also sold nearly 42,600 shares at the same price in a transaction worth $1.8 million. This was also said to be part of a prearranged plan.

It is not uncommon for executives to sell their shares and branch out in their investment processes, but it is usually timed in a way so it does not seem that they are cashing in on a sudden boost in their company stocks.

After their announcement regarding the vaccine, Pfizer’s shares rose by 8% Monday, and BioNTech rose by a whopping 15% Monday and 8% Tuesday.

In a similar way, pharma company Moderna saw a rise in its share price in June when it announced promising results of its COVID-19 drug trials, before falling flat within a week. The company raised nearly $1.3 billion by selling its stock after the announcements. It was also accused of market manipulation, the CNN report stated.