Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla sold more than 60% of his stock in the company on the same day the drugmaker announced the promising results of its COVID-19 vaccine trial.
Bourla sold 132,508 shares totaling $5.6 million on Monday, the same day the company reported that early clinical trial data puts the vaccine candidate’s effectiveness at 90%.
After reporting the good news about its vaccine, company stocks soared to $41.94 a share, just a few cents shy of the 52-week high share price, meaning Bourla sold his stock at almost its highest value in the past year.
A spokesman for the company said that the shares were sold as part of a pre-scheduled trading plan. Executives often periodically sell stock as a means of diversifying their portfolios.
Pfizer, which developed the vaccine with the German drug manufacturer BioNTech, plans to apply for emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration by the end of the month after it has collected the recommended two months of safety data.
