I am, in two accounts. I've been wondering what will happen to the PFE price on the effective date of the offer. I assume it will behave like any stock that goes ex-dividend, complicated by the 7% discount?
PFE chart looks awful, fwiw. The Motley Fool suggests there might be a connection with the ZTS offer.
Like the two telecoms, Pfizer suffered its worst losses in the last part of the month. The same argument regarding dividend stocks applies just as well to Pfizer as to AT&T and Verizon. But in addition, Pfizer shareholders face an interesting decision in the near future about whether to hang onto their shares or exchange them for shares of Pfizer's 80%-owned animal-health unit Zoetis. Offering roughly a 7% discount to make the exchange, Pfizer shareholders will feel pressure to accept the Zoetis offer, but the impact it will have to both companies' shares going forward is uncertain. Some investors might well simply prefer to sell their shares now rather than facing that dilemma, especially given that Zoetis shares saw similar declines. In the long run, though, Pfizer's success depends on the success or failure of its drug pipeline, so keep an eye on news related to new drug prospects rather than getting bogged down in the Zoetis deal.
