For the third day in a row, shares of big pharma bellwether Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) are heading higher -- which is kind of curious. Just last week, Pfizer issued downbeat guidance for the year ahead. But today, analysts at Citigroup put out a note suggesting that Pfizer is lowballing the market and setting itself up to beat earnings in 2024.

Pfizer stock is up 3.1% through 10:50 a.m. ET in response.

On Wednesday last week, Pfizer guided investors on what to expect from it in 2024. With demand for COVID-19-related vaccines and treatment continuing to dwindle, Pfizer predicted sales of Comirnaty (the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine) and Paxlovid (the Pfizer treatment for coronavirus) will total only about $8 billion next year. The company's acquisition of Seagen will add about $3.1 billion worth of oncology sales. But even so, total sales for the year will range from only $58.5 billion to $61.5 billion -- so $60 billion at the midpoint, which works out to about 4% year-over-year growth.

Continue reading

Source Fool.com