Pfizer shares are up in premarket trading in New York after a report from the Wall Street Journal revealed that activist investor Starboard Value has taken a $1 billion stake in the struggling pharmaceutical giant, aiming for a major turnaround. Pfizer’s stock had skyrocketed during the pandemic, driven by new Covid vaccine sales, but with the pandemic over and no imminent biothreat to the nation, shares trade at 2020 lows. 

Citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter, WSJ said Starboard had taken a billion-dollar stake in the pharmaceutical giant and approached two former Pfizer executives, Ian Read and Frank D’Amelio, to assist in advancing a new turnaround plan. 

Sources did not share specifics about Starboard’s plans or interactions with the company.

A Pfizer spokesperson told MarketWatch, “We do not comment on market speculation or rumor.” Starboard did not respond to comments from MarketWatch during the overnight hours. The WSJ report was published on Sunday evening. 

Pfizer has been trying to persuade investors that its other drugs can offset the slide in Covid vaccine and pill revenue. This has led to shares plunging by over 50% in just a few short years. Shares are up more than 3% this AM in premarket trading.

MarketWatch noted, “Pfizer easily beat second-quarter earnings estimates in July, raising its yearly revenue and profit outlook, and in August launched a direct-to-consumer platform for patients. But the pharma giant took a blow last month when it pulled a sickle-cell treatment from the market over a possible link to deaths.” 

Also in July, Pfizer released “encouraging” data from its once-daily anti-obesity pill, ‘danuglipron,’ as it attempts to continue expanding its product pipeline. And the company has been betting big on its cancer drugs. 

CEO Albert Bourla has been under intense pressure to turn the sinking ship around after he overestimated future demand for Covid-related products. Shares are trading below the 2019 levels when he became CEO. 

The silver lining is that only a small number of Americans were foolish enough to opt in for their 12th Pfizer Covid booster shot after seeing countless news reports and even some experiencing firsthand accounts of friends and family members who experienced adverse reactions to the shots. Bourla is now learning the brutal reality of selling products that the government and corporations can no longer mandate for use.