Sector movers: AstraZeneca drags pharma stocks lower on Pfizer drama

The pharmaceutical sector was dragged into the red on Monday as shares in AstraZeneca were hit by the news that the board has rejected another offer from US rival Pfizer.AstraZeneca was trading 11.5% lower at 4,270p after turning down a sweetened 5,500p-a-share bid from Pfizer. The new offer, which values the company at around £69bn, was only a "minor improvement" on previous proposals, according to Chairman Leif Johansson.Pfizer said this was a "final proposal" and would not be increasing it any further. It said it would not pursue a hostile offer and would only announce another offer with the recommendation of AstraZeneca's board."Everybody has a price - AZN do too," said analysts at ETX Capital this afternoon. "Pfizer is actually showing decent character by not going hostile and even though it said its final offer is final, it's unclear whether this will be the last of the Pfizer/AZN drama."Others in the pharma sector were also suffering from a bout of profit taking today following a strong performance in the last month on a wave of global M&A. A number of heavyweights in the industry have been involved in deals or bid speculation over the past few weeks, including GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis, Shire and Allergan.Top performing sectors so far todayForestry & Paper 10,976.01 +2.41%Chemicals 10,818.78 +1.30%Food Producers & Processors 8,002.87 +1.11%Fixed Line Telecommunications 4,275.74 +0.85%Oil Equipment, Services & Distribution 23,071.18 +0.84%Bottom performing sectors so far todayPharmaceuticals & Biotechnology 12,723.88 -4.27%Industrial Metals & Mining 1,183.90 -1.98%Mobile Telecommunications 4,823.60 -1.04%Mining 16,908.29 -0.70%Health Care Equipment & Services 5,162.46 -0.61%BC