Pfizer’s new tax rate higher than investors hoped, shares fall

Pfizer Inc said on Tuesday it expected to pay tax at an adjusted rate of about 17 percent this year, higher than some investors had expected, sending its shares down more than 3 percent. Shares of the largest U.S. drugmaker jumped last Friday after rival AbbVie Inc projected a new adjusted tax rate of just 9 percent and rose to their highest level since 2002 on Monday on hopes that Pfizer might benefit to a similar extent. Drugmaker stocks were also broadly lower on Tuesday after Amazon.com Inc , Berkshire Hathaway Inc and JPMorgan Chase & Co said they would form a healthcare company aimed at cutting costs for U.S. employees.