U.S. Congress invests heavily in big pharma stocks
U.S Congress members seem to like trading big pharma stocks. Pfizer is one of the most popular pharma stocks in U.S Congress, an analysis by OpenSecrets revealed.
Investing six figures in big pharma stocks
Pharmaceutical companies are amongst U.S lawmakers’ favourite stocks. As of the latest financial reports, more than 50 federal lawmakers disclosed investing upwards of six figures in the pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors.
The U.S. Representative for Massachusetts Joe Kennedy III, in 2019, reported owning up to $2.1 million in stock in pharmaceutical and healthcare companies in a family trust. Those include pharma giants such as Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Abbott Laboratories and Eli Lilly & Co. Although the American lawyer has profited from rising drug prices he has stated that he has no control over the assets in his family trust.
Pfizer most popular big pharma stock in Congress
Pfizer is one of the most popular stocks in U.S. Congress, with 48 lawmakers purchasing stocks of the leading drugmaker. The representative of Wisconsin Jim Sensenbrenner, known as the second most senior congressman, reported holding between $1 million and $5 million in Pfizer stocks. Forty-seven U.S. lawmakers reported investing in the multinational pharmaceutical corporation Johnson & Johnson. New Jersey headquartered J&J is one of the big pharma companies currently working on developing a COVID-19 vaccine.
In the most recent financial disclosures filed in 2019, members of the U.S. Congress reported holding tens of millions of dollars in pharmaceutical stocks. This became more obvious when Senators Richard Burr and Kelly Loeffler sold off certain stocks after attending a private briefing that underlined the imminent danger of COVID-19, OpenSecrets reports.
A representative for Montana Greg Gianforte, the wealthiest member of the House of Representatives topping $100 million in estimated net worth, has disclosed investing $3.6 million in pharmaceutical companies. He was the top investor in several pharma industry giants including AbbVie, the manufacturer of HUMIRA® (adalimumab) which successfully fought off generic competition for almost twenty years.
COVID-19 stocks
Although the majority of federal lawmakers disclose their assets in a broad range, Greg Gianforte has chosen to provide more transparency by disclosing the exact amount of money he invests in each asset. U.S. Rep. Gianforte has recently purchased stock in companies that might benefit from the COVID-19 pandemic, including Roche Holding AG, which received emergency approval from the federal government to sell their COVID-19 antibody test this month. In March this year, Roche’s first COVID-19 test also received the green light from the FDA, and became the first-ever coronavirus test to receive emergency authorisation in the United States.
