Pfizer CEO Bourla to Meet Activist Investor Starboard, Report Says

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla reportedly is planning to meet with Starboard Value after the activist investor took a $1 billion stake in the struggling drugmaker.
• Bourla and at least one other director will hold discussions with Starboard next week, the Financial Times reported, in a sign that the hedge fund’s demands are being taken seriously by the COVID-19 vaccine maker. 
• Pfizer's shares have halved since their pandemic peak in 2021 as demand for its COVID-19 vaccines slumped.

Pfizer (PFE) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Albert Bourla reportedly is planning to meet with Starboard Value after the activist investor took a $1 billion stake in the struggling drugmaker.

Bourla and at least one other director will hold discussions with Starboard next week, the Financial Times reported, in a sign that the hedge fund's demands are being taken seriously at high levels by the COVID-19 vaccine maker. 

Pfizer's shares have halved since their pandemic peak in 2021 as demand for its COVID-19 vaccines slumped. They are up just 1.5% this year, while the S&P 500 has risen more than 20%.

Starboard Has 'Extensive Slide Deck' To Turn Pfizer Around

The FT said Starboard CEO Jeff Smith and partner Patrick Sullivan, who is in charge of the fund's healthcare investments, will meet with Bourla and Pfizer's lead independent director, Shantanu Narayen. The hedge fund has  "created an extensive slide deck" to turn Pfizer around, the report said.

According to The Wall Street Journal earlier this week, Starboard has approached Ian Read, a former Pfizer chief executive, and ex-finance chief Frank D'Amelio to aid its plans to improve the company's performance.

Pfizer declined to comment, while Starboard didn't immediately return an Investopedia request for comment.

Pfizer shares were up less than 1% about an hour before the opening bell Wednesday.

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