Is Pfizer Stock a Good Bet on Coronavirus Vaccines?

Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) and his German partner BioNTech (NASDAQ: BNTX) reported incredible efficacy data from a Phase 3 trial for their coronavirus mRNA vaccine candidate. This news, coupled with equally impressive data from Modern (NASDAQ: ARNM) about its candidate who takes a similar approach, inspired a lot of hope in the world and injected optimism into the stock market.

We spoke with Dr. Angela Rasmussen, a virologist and associate researcher at the Columbia Center for Infection and Immunity, about how investors should decide to buy stocks of coronavirus vaccines.

Corinne Cardina: Dr Angela, I know you are a doctor of course, but we, The Motley Fool, are investors. So I’m going to put you on the spot and ask you, what would you say to investors who are considering buying shares of one or more companies that are working on COVID-19 vaccines?

Dr. Angela Rasmussen: It’s definitely out of my wheelhouse as I’m not a financial advisor or an investment advisor. Of course, Pfizer is a good bet, probably looking to the future. Buying shares in one of these companies is probably advisable, especially if the test results are promising like Pfizer. There is room on the market for all of these vaccines and, in my opinion, the more the better, the more people can get vaccinated. Perhaps as we get more data, some of these vaccines may work better for some groups than others. The Pfizer vaccine may work well in older people, but the Moderna vaccine does not. It’s not a fact, it’s just a hypothetical situation. But let’s say a vaccine works better for some people than for others, that means there really is room in the market for everyone. I think investing in one of those companies that have late stage vaccine candidates is probably a sound financial decision. This is what I would do if I bought shares of pharmaceutical companies, which I do not do because of conflicts of interest.