Pfizer on Monday reportedly sold shares worth nearly $ 5.6 million as they also announced the effectiveness of the vaccine, leading to a stock spike.
News of vaccines developed by Pfizer and BioNTech was found to be 90% effective which has led to a Pfizer stock spike of up to 15%.
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla sold 132,508 shares worth about $ 41.29 per share with a total value of almost $ 5.6 million. It is part of the 10b5-1 business plan.
The sale comprises 61.8% of the shares owned by Bourla are direct and indirect shares. Bourla also reportedly owns Pfizer shares 9 times higher than its $ 1.65 million earnings after the sale of the shares.
The Pfizer executive was also not the first individual to gain company shares during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Five key executives at Moderna, another vaccine-producing firm, have sold more than $ 80 million worth of shares as the firm's stock surplus exceeded 300% since early January 2020.
In contrast, Pfizer shares have declined by more than 2% during the pandemic since January 1. It is not clear how much profit is gained through vaccine development.
Seeing the phenomenon, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chairman Jay Clayton has warned executives not to sell shares when uncertainty occurs throughout the pandemic as it will lead to negative effects.
