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Just For You Pfizer Adds to Its Big Bet on Weight Loss DrugsWritten by Jordan Chussler. 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 recent 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 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 nearly 14%, 24%, and 25%, respectively, over the same time frame. For decades, gold prices were heavily influenced by a small group of large institutions. But recent enforcement actions and structural changes are beginning to shift how the market functions.
A veteran analyst says a new source of demand is now emerging — one that could reshape gold's supply-and-demand dynamics in ways most investors aren't watching yet. After a recent meeting in Colorado, he began digging into several smaller gold companies he believes could benefit if this trend continues. Read the full gold analysis here And despite Pfizer making headlines on Nov. 13 after acquiring obesity biotech Metsera in a $10 billion deal, the stock has only mustered a 0.23% gain 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 doing so can help recover revenue lost as demand for mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines has waned. 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 works similarly to Wegovy, the game-changing weight loss injection from competitor Novo Nordisk (NYSE: NVO). News of a yet-to-be-approved weight loss pill may not move the stock in the short term; however, it does reflect Pfizer's commitment and momentum in the obesity treatment market. The agreement calls for Pfizer to pay a $150 million fee upfront to YaoPharma's parent company, Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical, which has an $8.4 billion market cap. Additionally, Pfizer could pay YaoPharma up to $1.94 billion in milestone payments if the drug achieves regulatory progress, along with royalty payments on sales if and when it is approved. Those milestone payments are contingent on YaoPharma successfully navigating the drug through phase 1 trials, after which Pfizer will take control of later-stage development. Pfizer also plans to conduct combination studies — currently in mid-stage development — pairing the Chinese firm's pill with its own GIP receptor agonist, a strategy similar to Eli Lilly's approach with Zepbound and Mounjaro that targets both GLP-1 and GIP. Pfizer Is Positioning Itself for the Future of the Weight Loss Drug Market The deal underscores how aggressively Pfizer's executives are pursuing a larger, long-term role in the GLP-1 and broader obesity treatment market. Over the past month, Pfizer's leadership has signaled a willingness to invest roughly $10.1 billion toward that effort as it eyes a rapidly growing industry. Forecasts from market analysis firm Grand View Research suggest the GLP-1 weight loss drug market could grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18.54% from 2025 to 2030 — rising from less than $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, with more than 75% of the GLP-1 agonists market. While other obesity interventions exist, including lifestyle modifications and bariatric surgery, GLP-1 drugs remain the preferred option among many physicians and patients. Patient Investors Can Enjoy PFE's Sizable Dividend Shareholders are hoping Pfizer's push into the weight loss drug market pays off. The stock has delivered a total return decline of more than 31% over the past five years, largely due to the drop in COVID-vaccine sales that caused revenue growth to contract from more than 95% at the end of 2021 to a decline of over 41% by the end of 2023. Last year, Pfizer rebounded modestly, registering nearly a 7% increase in revenue. Meanwhile, the stock's dividend yield has helped offset some investor concerns. Pfizer remains a strong dividend payer with a current yield of 6.65% — or $1.72 per share annually. That payout has increased for 16 consecutive years, making the stock attractive to income investors despite its 100% dividend payout ratio, which raises questions for some. For investors willing to accept a speculative position on the future of prescription weight loss drugs while still collecting income, Pfizer may remain appealing. However, growth-focused investors might be wary after repeated underperformance. Analysts' average 12-month price target implies a little more than 10% upside from the current price, and the consensus rating is Hold. Meanwhile, short interest has been steadily rising as the stock attracts bearish bets. Currently, about $3.58 billion worth of the float is shorted — nearly 84% more than PFE's short position was at the end of January 2025.
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