Investing.com – Pfizer stock (NYSE:PFE) gained nearly 4% in Tuesday’s premarket trading as higher revenue from its vaccine against Covid-19 led the company to raise its guidance for the year.
The company now sees $81.5 billion in sales in 2021 at the midpoint of its forecast range, including $36 billion in sales of Comirnaty, its Covid-19 vaccine. That's $2.5 billion more than the previous forecast. But the non-Covid vaccine business is now seen fractionally weaker as the company pegged sales from that at $45.5 billion at midpoint, down from $46 billion projected earlier.
Group sales for the third-quarter sales were 130% higher than a year earlier at $24.1 billion, driven by increasing vaccinations against the pandemic the world over. Adjusted profit per share was $1.34 and was also higher than estimates.
The likely revenue from Covid-19 vaccines reflects 2.3 billion doses expected to be delivered in 2021 under already-signed contracts, up from 2.1 billion doses the company had tied up earlier. The company had then forecast sales of $33.5 billion from the Covid vaccine.
The recall of Chantix tablets during the quarter due to quality issues weighed on the outlook. The company has since stopped shipments of the product. Chantix is a treatment to help patients quit smoking and is intended for short-term use. However, tests had shown an unacceptably high level of a carcinogen in the medication.