Pfizer beats third quarter forecast as total coronavirus vaccine sales soar

Pfizer surpassed expectations for the third quarter and raised its forecast for 2021 again, even as sales of its flagship product, the COVID-19 vaccine Comirnaty, fell in the US.

Rising international sales of the preventative injections helped push Comirnaty's total sales to nearly $13 billion in the quarter, and the drugmaker said on Tuesday it now expects to book about $36 billion in sales of the vaccine this year.

That's more than a second-quarter forecast of $33.5 billion and more than double what Pfizer expected at the start of the year.

Pfizer is sharing the vaccine's profits and the costs of making and distributing it with German development partner BioNTech.

In the US, vaccine sales fell to $1.59 billion in the third quarter, from just over $2 billion in the previous quarter.

Analysts expected that as demand fell after the rush to get shots shortly after vaccine suitability rose in the spring. But demand appears to be picking up again and will be helped by booster shots and an expected authorization for the vaccine in children, said Mizuho Securities USA analyst Dr. Vamil Divan in a recent note.

Late last week, the Food and Drug Administration approved pediatric doses of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine, just one-third the amount given to teens and adults for emergency use. Up to 28 million additional U.S. children may qualify for vaccinations later this week.

Shares of Pfizer rose 4% to $45.34 in early morning trading before markets opened.

In August, the stock had hit a previous all-time high of $47.40, a mark that lasted 22 years.