Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Pfizer Call Options (NYSE:PFE)

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) saw unusually large options trading on Friday. Stock investors purchased 294,496 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 68% compared to the average daily volume of 175,651 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on PFE. Wolfe Research began coverage on Pfizer in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI upgraded Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $29.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $33.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price target on Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.92.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock purchased 19,457 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $25.65 per share, with a total value of $499,072.05. Following the transaction, the director now owns 27,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $710,684.55. This trade represents a 235.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pfizer

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pfizer during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pfizer during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Clarity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Pfizer during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Gladius Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of Pfizer by 102.8% during the third quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 1,043 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 38,015 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pfizer during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. 68.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Pfizer Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:PFE traded up $0.45 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $26.35. 39,142,909 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 38,022,176. The stock has a market cap of $149.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.68, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $26.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $27.44. Pfizer has a fifty-two week low of $24.48 and a fifty-two week high of $31.54.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $17.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.26 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 19.47% and a net margin of 12.62%. Pfizer’s revenue was up 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.10 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Pfizer will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be given a $0.43 dividend. This is an increase from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. Pfizer’s payout ratio is currently 121.99%.

Pfizer Company Profile

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.