Vaccines … and more

Pfizer’s (NYSE: PFE) COVID-19 vaccine candidate, which it developed with BioNTech, has shown 95 percent efficacy — so it may come as a surprise that as of this writing, Pfizer’s stock is up less than 2 percent, year over year, while the S&P 500 is up nearly 16 percent. That’s an opportunity. Although the vaccine would likely generate billions of dollars in revenue, Pfizer is a company that reported $51.8 billion in revenue last year and $16.3 billion in profit. Clearly, it has a lot of other things going on. Its growth drivers include Vyndaqel, which is approved for treating the rare genetic disease transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy, and blood thinner Eliquis. Pfizer is also awaiting regulatory approval decisions for several treatments, such as abrocitinib for atopic dermatitis and tanezumab for osteoarthritic pain. Pfizer’s pipeline also includes 21 treatments in late-stage clinical trials. Meanwhile, Pfizer has spun off its Upjohn business to form a new company with Mylan, called Viatris. Pfizer will receive a nice $12 billion cash windfall from the deal, which could be used for growth-fueling acquisitions. Pfizer pays its shareholders a dividend that recently yielded 4.1 percent, and it has been boosting dividend payments by an annual average of 5.4 percent over the past five years. The company is poised to deliver solid growth over the years to come, along with dependable income, so long-term investors should give it a closer look.