Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, PhD, sold about $5.6 million worth of his shares in the company Nov. 9, the same day the drugmaker announced interim trial analysis showed the COVID-19 vaccine it is developing with BioNTech is 90 percent effective in preventing the disease.
Pfizer shares rose almost 15 percent the day Dr. Bourla sold 32,508 shares at an average price of $41.94 per share, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. The sale was part of a scheduled 10b5-1 trading plan adopted on Aug. 19, according to CNBC.
The Nov. 9 sale accounted for 61.8 percent of the shares Dr. Bourla owned directly and indirectly, according to CNBC. The SEC filing shows he still owns 81,812 shares in the company.
"After being with the company for more than 25 years, Albert owns a substantial amount of Pfizer stock under our qualified and nonqualified savings plans," a Pfizer spokesperson told CNBC in a statement. "He now holds approximately nine times his salary in Pfizer stock after the sale this week."
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