The article published in the Wall Street Journal is related to the course content and material, as it is about the stock value trends. Often, investors respond to the changes in stock value by buying or selling their shares. The article reports that Albert Bourla, the CEO of Pfizer, sold up to 60% of the company’s personal shares after recording positive results in the development of a vaccine for COVID-19. The decision to sell the shares has attracted the attention of investors and scholars. However, Pfizer is not the only company in the pharmaceutical business to make unexpected decisions, particularly following the current quest for the COVID-19 vaccine (Hopkins & Zuckerman, 2020). The article shows that Mr. Bourla just joined other executives who have already sold their company’s stock after making commendable progress in the pursuit of the vaccine.
Nevertheless, the CEO’s decision attracted much attention because it led to unexpected trading of a large number of stock shares within a single day. In essence, the CEO sold over 132,000 shares at a price of $41.94 per share. Besides, Mr. Bourla still owns over 78,000 direct shares, which closed the $38.52 price a few days after the initial sale. In response to the CEO’s decision, other Pfizer executives resolved to sell their shares as well (Hopkins & Zuckerman, 2020). In real-life, company executives do that with the intention of triggering automatic stock trades. Although such decisions are acceptable, they can easily expose a company to public scrutiny, with some people becoming skeptical or hesitant. The CEO’s decision might result in the loss of trust, although it might not be a cause of alarm. The fact that people are still critical about the idea of a vaccine for COVID-19 makes it more difficult for the public to trust Pfizer.
Reference
Hopkins, J. S., & Zuckerman, G. (2020). Pfizer CEO joins a host of executives at covid-19 vaccine makers in big stock sale. The Wall Street Journal. Web.