A great way to make millions in the stock market is to be CEO of a company that will make an internationally buzz-worthy announcement and sell most of the stock you own that day.
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla cashed out on 132,508 shares of the pharmaceutical giant’s stock on Monday, the day it announced that COVID-19 vaccine trials were 90% effective. He previously shared that he knew of the results Sunday.
Pfizer announced that Bourla’s sale was part of a predetermined sale, set in August, for when stocks hit a certain price to diversify his portfolio. That is a common executive practice, but it also is frequently delayed to avoid the perception of capitalizing on a one-off event.
The stock was sold at $41.94 per share, a price that is 5 cents off the stock’s highest price of the year. The sale accounts for 62% of Bourla’s Pfizer stock.
Pfizer Executive Vice President Sally Susman also sold 43,662 shares through a similar plan at the same price Monday, netting $1.8 million for her nest egg. That was 29% of what she owned in Pfizer stock, which has fallen 1.3% in value overall this year even as the S&P has risen 9.7%.
Earlier this year, Moderna executives sold shares after releasing COVID-19 vaccine trial results that were accused of being overhyped. The company raised $1.3 billion in the stock sale and executives sold off for tens of millions of dollars before the stock dropped the following week.
Stockbrokers and financial advisors are nice, but knowing a drug maker CEO would be so much more lucrative. Albeit, potentially illegal.
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