(Bloomberg) — Move over Moderna Inc., Pfizer Inc. is the new day traders’ favorite Covid-19 vaccine stock.
Pfizer has climbed about 9% in just five days to a record high, with retail traders snapping up about $63 million of the shares on Tuesday alone, according to data from Vanda Research. The day-trading crowd sold off more positions than they bought in Moderna and BioNTech.
It marks a sharp change in fortunes. Both Moderna and BioNTech have amassed triple digit gains this year, a rally the $280 billion-valued Pfizer missed out on with a scant 36% gain, despite being the first — along with BioNTech — to win authorization for a Covid shot in the U.S. The U.S. announced today that it would start offering booster shots to the already vaccinated in September.
As Pfizer rallies, BioNTech has tumbled more than 20% from a record high reached on Aug. 9, while Moderna is down roughly 19% from its zenith. All three stocks declined today, with Pfizer reversing early gains.
Pfizer’s stock now trades at an 10% premium to the average analyst price target, compared to 30% for Moderna and 17% for BioNTech.
The recent closing of the gap may not spell the end of the rally. Wall Street is already adjusting its models with Pfizer getting a new Wall Street high price target of $61 from Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Louise Chen on Tuesday.
The drugmaker’s “pipeline advancements and product sales continue to exceed our expectations,” she wrote in a note to clients.
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