We prefer Pfizer over Viatris for new buying

Article Excerpt

Just over a year ago, Pfizer folded its generic drug business into a new company called Viatris. The plan lets it better focus on its more-profitable products, particularly its COVID-19 vaccine. While Viatris is off to a slow start, it still has long-term appeal. PFIZER INC. $51 is a buy. The company (New York symbol PFE; Income Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 5.6 billion; Market cap: $285.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 4.2; Dividend yield: 3.1%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.pfizer.com) is one of the world’s largest makers of prescription drugs. Pfizer recently announced that its experimental COVID-19 pill (called Paxlovid) was 89% effective at preventing people with underlying health problems from needing hospitalization or dying. That includes protection against the more contagious Delta variant. If regulators approve, Pfizer could begin delivering Paxlovid by the end of 2021. The company also continues to benefit from strong demand for its two-shot COVID-19 vaccine (formally called Comirnaty), developed in partnership with German drugmaker BioNTech (Nasdaq symbol BNTX). Pfizer’s sales…