15 Stocks Targeted By Activist Hedge Funds

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3. Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Company Market Cap as of December 31: $150.35 Billion

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 80

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) is a healthcare company that discovers, develops, manufactures, markets, distributes, and sells biopharmaceutical products. The company offers medicines and vaccines in various therapeutic areas, including cardiovascular, metabolic, migraine, and women’s health. It is one of the stocks that underperform in 2024, going down by about 10%.

Amid the underperformance, it is one of the stocks targeted by activist hedge funds. Activist hedge fund Starboard Value acquired a $1 billion stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) and started pushing for changes aimed at turning the company’s fortunes around. Parts of the modifications that hedge funds pushed for include management changes.

Reports indicated that the activist hedge fund had approached former executives Ian Read and Frank D’Amelio to help reinvigorate the healthcare company’s growth prospects. The activist campaign comes on Pfizer Inc.’s (NYSE:PFE) struggle to find a product to compensate for the lost revenue from its once-lucrative COVID-19 vaccine business.

The company’s sentiments took a significant hit in 2024 following a weaker-than-hoped launch of the respiratory syncytial virus vaccine, and clinical data from its obesity pill was disappointing. Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) has spent some $70 billion since 2020 on acquisitions while launching cost-saving initiatives to pursue new growth opportunities and strengthen its profit margins.

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