Michael Shulman submits:
Pfizer (PFE) was, at one time, the most owned stock in the world and the darling of individual and institutional investors alike. Despite looming patent expirations, an anemic pipeline and a stock that has significantly underperformed the S&P for the past five years, analysts and legions of blow-dried pundits on CNBC keep recommending the stock. In my service, ChangeWave Shorts, I have recommended short- and long-term puts on the stock. I myself am not short Pfizer.
Disclosure over, last week was not a good week for PFE in light of obvious and not so obvious news. It went oh-for-there in cancer trials – an experimental lung-cancer drug called figitumumab failed in trial as did Sutent, already on the market for two type of cancer treatment, in trials for advanced breast-cancer and failed to meet their primary endpoints. The Street read the headlines and the stock sold off a bit.