I hate (trying) to trade NYSE stocks. I just saw a headline about Celebrex being linked to 14 deaths so I put in an order to short PFE. Executions are normally slow on the NYSE for shorts, but in a situation like this they’re impossible. I sat here and watched it slip away for more than 2 minutes but I had to pull my order before they filled me at some ridiculously low price. I put my order in when the stock was around 29.3, it’s at 27.5 now.

Here’s the news (via Briefing.com of course):

10:09 PFE Pfizer: hearing that story is out that Celebrex has been linked to 14 deaths… stock seeing spike in volume on these reports (29.33 -0.12)

10:15 PFE Pfizer: source of story is Canada’s National Post… PFE continues to tumble on report… stock has dropped 5% in less than 15 min (28.05 -1.40) — Update –

10:31 PFE Pfizer: Details of National Post story on Celebrex (28.14 -1.31) — Update –

The National Post reports that: “A popular pain drug touted as the safe alternative to Vioxx after that medicine was pulled from the shelves is itself suspected of contributing to at least 14 deaths and numerous heart and brain-related side effects, according to Health Canada documents. The documents include more than 100 adverse-reaction reports on Celebrex over the past five years, including 19 cases of heart attack, cardiac arrest or heart failure and five strokes. The data, based on voluntary reporting by doctors and others, comes to light as some experts suggest Celebrex and other pills in the same pain-relieving class may have similar cardiac-related effects to Vioxx, which was pulled from the market by Merck last month after a study showed the pills significantly boosted the risk of heart attack and stroke. Health Canada, a top Canadian expert and Pfizer, which makes Celebrex, say the adverse reaction reports paint an incomplete picture, based on untested suspicions, with no comparisons to the effects of other drugs.”