Top 5 Blue Chip Stocks to Buy in 2022

4. Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 83

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) has been in the limelight since it manufactured one of the earliest Covid-19 vaccines approved by the United States government. The firm made approximately $36 billion in vaccine sales alone in 2021 and has also seen its Paxlovid oral pill for Covid-19 approved by the FDA. Founded in 1849, Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) is behind a range of well-known pharmaceutical products and pays a solid dividend of 2.95% to shareholders as of March 18.

On March 17, the United Nations-backed Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) announced that 35 generic drug-making firms around the world will manufacture cheap versions of Pfizer Inc.’s (NYSE:PFE) Paxlovid oral pill, which will be supplied to 95 low-income countries across the globe, or roughly 53% of the world population.

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) reported earnings per share of $1.08 for the fourth quarter, which beat consensus estimates by $0.21. Revenue for Q4 stood at $23.84 billion, which was up 104.02% year-on-year but fell below estimates by $362.61 million.

Out of all the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey, 83 reported holding positions in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) during the fourth quarter, as compared to 74 hedge funds in the previous quarter. This shows increasing investor confidence in the drug-making firm.

ClearBridge Investments discussed many stocks in its Q1 2021 investor letter, and Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) was one of them. Here’s what the fund said:

“Our underweights in health care and staples contributed to relative performance during the period. As we continue to focus the portfolio on high-conviction ideas, we sold Pfizer in late 2020, in the health care sector.”