The drug firm Pfizer reported an 8.81 per cent rise in net profit to Rs 142.95 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2021. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 131.37 crore for the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.
The US multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology firm further announced that its experimental antiviral pill to treat COVID-19 can cut the risk of hospitalisation and death by 89 per cent in vulnerable adults.
Following the development, shares of Pfizer soared over 8 per cent to Rs 5,429.35 on BSE, before paring some gains to trade at Rs 5328.45 around 9.45 am. The scrip had settled at Rs 5,005.80 on Thursday.
BSE barometer and benchmark Sensex was trading at 130.92 points or 0.22 per cent lower at 59,936.70 at the time of writing this report.
Revenue from operations stood at Rs 636.26 crore for the quarter under consideration, as against Rs 595.41 crore a year ago, it added in the regulatory filing. Revenue for the Upjohn business for the quarter ended September 2021 stood at Rs 21.1 crore.
The drug to be sold under the brand name Paxlovid was highly effective at preventing severe illness in vulnerable adults. The antiviral drug is the second of its type in the market to demonstrate efficacy against Covid.
Pfizer is witnessing a bounceback on the back of some positive developments where it has managed to move above its 200-DMA, said Santosh Meena, Head of Research, Swastika Investmart.
“Rs 5500-5600 is a critical supply zone and it will be difficult for the stock to cross this area. However, if it manages to cross this area, then we can see further strength towards Rs 5,900-6,000 zone. On the downside, 5000-4800 areas will remain a strong demand zone,” he added.
