Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Now Covered by Wolfe Research

Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm issued an underperform rating and a $25.00 target price on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI raised shares of Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Daiwa Capital Markets raised shares of Pfizer from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $28.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Daiwa America upgraded Pfizer from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Pfizer presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.92.

Pfizer Stock Performance

NYSE:PFE opened at $24.88 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $140.97 billion, a PE ratio of 33.62, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.67. Pfizer has a fifty-two week low of $24.48 and a fifty-two week high of $31.54. The company has a fifty day moving average of $28.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.65.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.42. Pfizer had a net margin of 7.07% and a return on equity of 16.28%. The firm had revenue of $17.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.17) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Pfizer will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.75%. Pfizer’s payout ratio is currently 227.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pfizer

In other news, Director Scott Gottlieb purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $28.24 per share, for a total transaction of $28,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $282,400. This represents a 11.11 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pfizer

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PFE. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Pfizer by 1.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 290,460,600 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $8,405,930,000 after purchasing an additional 3,405,539 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Pfizer by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 130,143,942 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,766,366,000 after buying an additional 12,864,343 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Pfizer by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 117,666,245 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,392,342,000 after buying an additional 1,855,419 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Pfizer by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 71,794,056 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,008,798,000 after buying an additional 2,241,609 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Pfizer by 22.4% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 38,068,879 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,101,713,000 after acquiring an additional 6,977,587 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

About Pfizer

Pfizer Inc discovers, develops, manufactures, markets, distributes, and sells biopharmaceutical products in the United States, Europe, and internationally. The company offers medicines and vaccines in various therapeutic areas, including cardiovascular metabolic, migraine, and women's health under the Eliquis, Nurtec ODT/Vydura, Zavzpret, and the Premarin family brands; infectious diseases with unmet medical needs under the Prevnar family, Abrysvo, Nimenrix, FSME/IMMUN-TicoVac, and Trumenba brands; and COVID-19 prevention and treatment, and potential future mRNA and antiviral products under the Comirnaty and Paxlovid brands.