Why Pfizer Stock Topped the Market on Tuesday

On Tuesday, investors continued to snap up shares of big pharmaceutical company Pfizer (NYSE: PFE). Somewhat counterintuitively, this week's rise came after the company announced it was ending the development of a drug in a very hot product category. On Tuesday, Pfizer's stock closed the day 1.5% higher, providing a pleasant contrast to the S&P 500 index's 0.2% dip.

Weight loss drug not a loss

Tuesday was a relatively uneventful news day for Pfizer, especially following the pharmaceutical giant's disclosure on Monday that it halted the development of its investigational weight loss drug danuglipron. This occurred after a patient suffered a liver injury during the testing of the medication.

Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Learn More »

Yet Pfizer watchers are well aware that the large and well-resourced company doesn't only have one pony in the race. It has a different treatment in its pipeline, PF-07976016, that's based on a different mechanism and is currently undergoing phase 2 clinical trials.

One analyst tracking the pharmaceutical stock didn't hesitate to point in a new research note published Tuesday morning that the company still has options. Bernstein SocGen's Courtney Breen wrote in her analysis, according to reports, that Pfizer will likely turn to its tried-and-true strategy of building up its pipeline with mergers and acquisitions, and/or licensing of products developed by peers.

Waiting for new success

Investors can be quite a hardy bunch, and collectively they seem to be shrugging off what many would consider a major setback in the lab with danuglipron. That being said, it is a setback, and Pfizer hasn't been a pharmaceutical pace-setter since the days of its Comirnaty vaccine during the coronavirus pandemic. The market is likely to start getting more impatient with the company soon.

Should you invest $1,000 in Pfizer right now?

Before you buy stock in Pfizer, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Pfizer wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $502,231!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $678,552!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 800% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 156% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of April 14, 2025

Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Pfizer. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.