# Investing Dopers, I Hope You're Not Long Pfizer or AstraZeneca **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 17, 2004, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/investing-dopers-i-hope-youre-not-long-pfizer-or-astrazeneca/280345 "2004-12-17T15:11:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ColonelDax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@ColonelDax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ColonelDax)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/investing-dopers-i-hope-youre-not-long-pfizer-or-astrazeneca/280345/1 "2004-12-17T15:11:05Z")
Pfizer Inc. shares are down 17% in New York (about $35 billion in market cap gone right there) as of this posting after the company said its Celebrex painkiller increased the risk of heart attacks in a study of cancer patients. AstraZeneca Plc is down almost 8% in London after saying its Iressa lung-cancer treatment didn’t help patients live longer in a study. Ouch. ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/investing-dopers-i-hope-youre-not-long-pfizer-or-astrazeneca/280345/2 "2004-12-17T15:20:36Z")
Pfizer (PFE) NYSE. Astrazeneca Plc (AZN) NYSE. ---
**Author:** ![lno](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a8b319/32.png) [@lno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lno)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/investing-dopers-i-hope-youre-not-long-pfizer-or-astrazeneca/280345/3 "2004-12-17T15:46:41Z")
I guess Pfizer just couldn’t keep it up. ---
**Author:** ![scout1222](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/34f0e0/32.png) [@scout1222](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scout1222)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/investing-dopers-i-hope-youre-not-long-pfizer-or-astrazeneca/280345/4 "2004-12-17T15:51:01Z")
I’m a little more distressed by the Astra Zeneca news, as that might have some implications for my own company. But either way, it means the whole sector’s probably going to be in the shitter today. I think I just won’t check to see what our stock is trading at. It will just depress me and make me want to wallpaper my cube with my stock options. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/investing-dopers-i-hope-youre-not-long-pfizer-or-astrazeneca/280345/5 "2004-12-17T16:08:51Z")
A friend of mine holds some Pfizer stock. Her theory is that pharmaceuticals may have their ups and downs, but they’ll recover and gain value after a loss. While she doesn’t have the money to invest now, she sees falling pharmaceutical prices as an opportunity to increase one’s holdings and that the inevitable rebound will result in higher gains. ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/investing-dopers-i-hope-youre-not-long-pfizer-or-astrazeneca/280345/6 "2004-12-17T16:27:24Z")
I’ve held Pfizer stock for more than a decade, and the only time I freaked out was in 2001 - todays rather large dip is not bothering me to any readable degree. ---
**Author:** ![Tranquilis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tranquilis/32/3639_2.png) [@Tranquilis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tranquilis)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/investing-dopers-i-hope-youre-not-long-pfizer-or-astrazeneca/280345/7 "2004-12-17T19:27:12Z")
> [@ColonelDax](#): > > AstraZeneca Plc is down almost 8% in London after saying its Iressa lung-cancer treatment didn’t help patients live longer in a study. Ouch. This is true - In a single study, in a single very specific kind of cancer. And yes, it is very disappointing. Actual press release [here](http://www.astrazeneca.com/pressrelease/4245.aspx). Disclaimer: While I work for AZ, any opinion I may present here is _mine only_, and not that of the company. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2004, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/investing-dopers-i-hope-youre-not-long-pfizer-or-astrazeneca/280345/8 "2004-12-19T06:08:04Z")
I have a small holding in Pfizer. The Celebrex problem is not that big a deal. It’s a fairly small piece of the overall drug array. Actually, the stock has come back up. The first day of the Celebrex debacle showed a 14% drop. Although it was down 11% more early on Friday, now it’s only a 13.97% drop. Usually, drug companies already have figured liability disasters into the books, and the day after the panic, they hit the ground running. Pfizer is still a solid company, and this little dip might be a buying opportunity.