Pfizer falls 1.3% amid Phase 2 pediatric pneumococcal vaccine data

Session of October 23, 2026 · Published October 25, 2026 · 4 min read

What happened

Pfizer (PFE) fell 1.3% on October 23, 2026, in an ordinary session as the company reported detailed Phase 2 results for its investigational 25-valent pediatric pneumococcal vaccine candidate PF-07872412. Trading volume was 1.0 times its 20-day average and the stock opened 0.5% below the previous close. The S&P 500 fell 0.5% on the day and the healthcare sector median fell 1.2%, making Pfizer 0.1 percentage points worse than the sector median.

Closing price over the last 30 trading sessions. On October 23, 2026, PFE closed at $30.03, down 1.3% on the day and 8.3% higher than 30 sessions earlier.

The company said a four-dose series of PF-07872412 induced strong immune responses against all 25 serotypes and had safety and tolerability comparable to a four-dose comparator, according to reporting by Business Wire and GuruFocus. The vaccine data were the main development around the company on the day; the session was classified as an ordinary-sized move for this stock, not as one driven by a large, atypical market reaction.

How big was the move

The stock closed at $30.03 and fell 1.3% on the day. Over the last five sessions the stock had risen 1.5%. The session represented 1.0 times a typical daily move for this stock, and the company's market sensitivity is captured by a beta of 0.43, reflecting that the stock tends to move less than the market. Volume at 1.0 times its 20-day average suggested trading was about in line with recent activity.

Each bar is one day's price change; the outlined bar is October 23, 2026. A typical daily move over the past year was 1.4%, so the latest move equals 0.9 times that. Moves outside the dashed lines (about 2.7%) are unusual.

Market context was mixed. The S&P 500 on the day fell 0.5% and the healthcare sector median fell 1.2%. Relative to the sector, the stock's performance was 0.1 percentage points worse than the sector median. Those figures, together with the computed classification of the session as ordinary, suggest the day's price action did not represent an extreme repricing of the company.

The technical picture

The technical indicators remain constructive. The stock was 4.3% above its 20-day moving average, 6.1% above its 50-day moving average and 12.5% above its 200-day moving average. The 50-day average is above the 200-day average, a sign of an established uptrend, and the stock has been above its 200-day average for 56 consecutive trading days. The Relative Strength Index (14 days) was 66, in a neutral range.

Closing price over the past year. PFE ends the period 1.3% below its 52-week high, above its 50-day average ($28.30) and above its 200-day average ($26.68).

Momentum over standard horizons was positive: the change over one month rose 5.7% and the change over three months rose 21.7%. One-year performance rose 21.5%, which was 7.7 percentage points ahead of the S&P 500. Volatility was 20% annualized over 60 days, lower than 91% of its own readings over five years, indicating relatively subdued price variability compared with recent history. The stock sat 1.3% below the 52-week high.

Fundamentals and valuation

On fundamentals, the four quarters through June 28, 2026, showed revenue of $63.70 billion, with revenue growth from a year earlier that declined 0.2%. Diluted earnings per share were $0.76, and earnings per share growth from a year earlier fell 59.9%. Gross margin was 71.3%, up from 67.3% a year earlier, while operating margin was 25.1%, down from 29.6% a year earlier. Free-cash-flow margin stood at 17.2% and return on invested capital was 9.3%.

Quarterly revenue by period end. The latest quarter brought $15.0B, 2.6% more than the same quarter a year earlier.

The balance sheet included net debt of 4.9 times EBITDA and share count over one year decreased by 0.1%. On valuation, the stock traded at 39.7 times trailing earnings, a reading described as higher than 95% of its own readings over the past five years (five-year median: 14.4 times earnings). Price to forward earnings was 10.1 times expected earnings and free-cash-flow yield was 6.5%.

PromtFinance scores placed the company as follows within the sector: Value 70 (Positive), Growth 11 (Very weak), Quality 85 (Strong), Momentum 76 (Positive), Revisions 43 (Weak), Stability 86 (Strong). Those scores reflect a mix of strong quality and stability metrics alongside weak recent growth readings.

Earnings and analyst expectations

Pfizer's last report was on August 4, 2026, when earnings per share were $0.77 against $0.68 expected, 12.9% above estimates. The company had a streak of 14 consecutive quarters beating estimates and the average surprise over the last four reports was 17.7% above estimates. The typical two-day reaction after recent reports was rose 0.4%.

Diluted earnings per share by quarter. The latest quarter shows -$0.04, against $0.51 in the same quarter a year earlier.

Analysts numbered 40 with a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $29.17, which was 2.9% below the closing price on October 23, 2026. Forty percent of analysts with a rating assigned Buy or Strong Buy.

What to watch

November 3, 2026: next report date for earnings, as scheduled.
The detailed Phase 2 NCT06524414 results presented at IDWeek 2026 for PF-07872412, reported by Business Wire and GuruFocus.
Price to trailing earnings at 39.7 times trailing earnings, higher than 95% of its own readings over the past five years.
Net debt of 4.9 times EBITDA and free-cash-flow margin of 17.2%.
Distance from the 52-week high at 1.3% below the 52-week high

Full PFE analysis: scores, chart and financials →