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This Week's Featured Article Pfizer Adds to Its Big Bet on Weight Loss DrugsReported by Jordan Chussler. Article Published: 12/16/2025. 
Key Points - The health care sector has led the S&P 500 over the three months, but Pfizer has lagged of late, slipping 5% since the start of October.
- As the Big Pharma company continues to struggle to replace COVID-19 vaccine revenue, it is heavily learning into the semaglutide and GLP-1 weight loss drug trend.
- Last week, the company signed a $2.1 billion licensing agreement with a Chinese pharma company to develop its early-stage weight loss pill.
Health care stocks have been on a run lately, leading the S&P 500's 11 sectors over the past three months with a gain of 11.55%. Unfortunately for some investors, that rally has not included all of the Big Pharma mainstays. Pfizer (NYSE: PFE), the maker of Chantix, Eliquis and Paxlovid, has seen its shares slide about 5% since the start of October. By comparison, other mega-cap pharmaceutical companies such as Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: REGN) and Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) are up roughly 14%, 24% and 25%, respectively, over the same period. While President Trump's official salary is $400,000 per year... his tax returns reveal he's been collecting up to $250,000 PER MONTH from one hidden source. Until recently, most Americans couldn't touch the type of investment that makes up this investment. But thanks to Executive Order 14330, that just changed. If you love investing in disruptive new companies... Discover how to invest in the fund Trump uses to collect this income >> Despite making headlines on Nov. 13 after acquiring obesity biotech Metsera in a $10 billion deal, Pfizer's stock has only gained about 0.23% since then. The nearly 177-year-old biopharma company is once again looking to expand its role in the weight-loss drug market, with management and shareholders hoping that new products can help offset revenue declines as demand for mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines wanes. Pfizer Looks to Gain Market Share After Enormous Deal With YaoPharma On Tuesday, Dec. 9, Pfizer struck a $2.1 billion licensing deal with China's YaoPharma to develop a GLP-1 weight-loss pill that is in early-stage development. The drug is designed to work similarly to Wegovy, the market-changing weight-loss injection from competitor Novo Nordisk (NYSE: NVO). News of a yet-to-be-approved pill may not move the stock in the short term, but the deal underscores Pfizer's commitment and momentum in the obesity-treatment market. Pfizer will pay a $150 million upfront fee to YaoPharma's parent, Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical, which has an $8.4 billion market cap. The company could also pay YaoPharma up to $1.94 billion in milestone payments tied to development and approval progress, plus royalties on sales if the drug is approved. Those milestone payments are contingent on YaoPharma successfully advancing the weight-loss pill through Phase 1 trials, after which Pfizer will take responsibility for later-stage development. Pfizer also plans to run combination studies—currently in mid-stage development—testing the Chinese firm's pill with Pfizer's own GIP (glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide) receptor-targeting compound. That approach mirrors Eli Lilly's strategy of combining GLP-1 and GIP mechanisms with products like Zepbound and Mounjaro. Pfizer Is Positioning Itself for the Future of the Weight-Loss Drug Market The agreement highlights how aggressively Pfizer's executives are pursuing a long-term role in the GLP-1 and broader obesity-treatment market. In roughly the past month the company has committed about $10.1 billion to bolster its position in a rapidly expanding industry. Market forecasts from Grand View Research project the GLP-1 weight-loss drug market to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18.54% from 2025 to 2030, rising from under $14 billion at the start of this year to an estimated $48.84 billion by 2030. Grand View Research also found that North America accounts for the largest revenue share—more than 75% of the GLP-1 agonists market. While alternatives such as lifestyle changes and bariatric surgery exist, GLP-1 drugs remain the preferred option for many physicians and patients. Patient Investors Can Enjoy PFE's Sizable Dividend Shareholders are hoping Pfizer's push into the weight-loss market pays off after the stock has lost more than 31% over the past five years. Much of that decline stems from falling COVID-vaccine sales, which caused revenue growth to swing from over 95% at the end of 2021 to a drop of more than 41% by the end of 2023. Last year Pfizer rebounded modestly, posting nearly a 7% increase in revenue. Meanwhile, the stock's dividend has provided income relief: Pfizer remains a strong dividend payer with a current yield of 6.65%—about $1.72 per share annually. The payout has increased for 16 consecutive years, making the stock popular with income investors despite a payout ratio that some consider high. For investors willing to prioritize income and take a speculative stance on the near- and mid-term prospects of prescription weight-loss drugs, Pfizer offers steady cash returns while providing exposure to the GLP-1 opportunity. Growth-focused investors, however, may be less patient: analysts' average 12-month price target implies roughly a 10% upside from the current price and the consensus rating remains a Hold. At the same time, short interest has been climbing as more investors bet against the stock. Currently, about $3.58 billion of the float is shorted—nearly 84% higher than PFE's short position at the end of January 2025.
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