In the United States, 68% of preschoolers already have the virus. This means they have to miss out on school and social gatherings with their peers. They have also passed the virus to their parents, grandparents, and siblings.
There is relief in sight. Shots for children from 6 months to 5-6 years old will begin to roll out. Late last week, two advisory panels said that the vaccines were harmless for children of that age. The panels consist of Center for Disease Control (CDC) experts and another of experts from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Parents were told that they would have to choose between the Pfizer (NYSE: PFE)/BioNTech vaccine and the Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA) vaccine. The data shows that these two vaccines are harmless for toddlers.
The question is: Will these companies profit from the rollout of vaccines for toddlers? Is this a good sign to add these companies into your portfolio as the market takes a bearish tone?
Well, looking at the past price action would help us make wise financial decisions for the future.
The Evidence From The Past
According to the People's Vaccine Alliance's data released in 2021, Pfizer, BioNTech, and Moderna profited greatly when their vaccines were approved in 2020. The data shows that they all earned about $56,000 every minute.
Due to the enormous profits from the vaccines, the three pharmaceutical companies refused to release the recipes for their vaccines. As a result, when the WHO called for pharmaceutical companies to contribute to helping the poor developing nations with free vaccines, these companies contributed less than 1% of their vaccines to the effort.
While many believe their profits are obscene, the CEOs of Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) and Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA) continued to defend themselves. They said it was insane to assume that they could release the recipes for their vaccines after the effort put into developing them. They also called insane the call for vaccine companies to relinquish the intellectual property rights to existing vaccines.
The three companies received public funding of about $8 billion from the Trump administration. But they refused to heed calls to transfer their vaccine technology to developing countries. The WHO repeatedly made these call-in conversations with the CEOs of these companies, but they turned deaf ears. It was clear that the companies were putting profit before human lives.
As for Moderna, it was reported that the White House explicitly pressured the CEO, Stephane Bancel, to collaborate and cooperate with the WHO. They wanted Moderna to replicate the Moderna vaccine at its mRNA hub in South Africa for broader distribution to developing countries, especially African countries.
Even when the WHO approved the Indian vaccine, Covaxin, for distribution to developing countries, Pfizer, BioNTech, and Moderna maintained their ground. According to Anna Marriott, the Health Policy Manager for Oxfam, they must have thought that developing countries cannot develop vaccines for their citizens. However, the Covaxin vaccine made their claims unbelievable.
Pfizer recorded a profit of $41.7 billion for its vaccines in 2020. Its revenue for 2021 was $81.3 billion. As for Moderna, it reported total revenue of $18.5 billion for 2021. This was an increase of $903 million from its 2020 revenue.
These companies are manufacturing their vaccines for the sake of their shareholders. But unfortunately, the capitalistic motive has outgunned their altruistic sides.
Should You Invest in Pfizer, Moderna, or BioNTech?
If you are investing for non-financial reasons, you would be doubtful about investing in these companies. But most investments are far from being altruistic. Most investors are capitalistic in their thinking. If that is the same for you, these three stocks will rise this week as the vaccine rollout for toddlers has begun. So, the time is ripe for adding them to your portfolio.
There are more than 30 million toddlers in America. Many parents are anxious to see that their children get vaccinated against COVID-19. As a result, these stocks have a renewed opportunity to make huge gains this year. The fundamentals are right for these three companies. The signal is suitable for a buy on these stocks.
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