Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Evercore ISI

Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Daiwa America upgraded shares of Pfizer from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 price objective on the stock. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded shares of Pfizer from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $28.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Pfizer from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $33.58.

Pfizer Price Performance

NYSE PFE opened at $28.29 on Wednesday. Pfizer has a 52 week low of $25.20 and a 52 week high of $31.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market cap of $160.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $29.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $28.56.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 EPS 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 16.40%. The firm had revenue of $17.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.17) EPS. Pfizer’s quarterly revenue was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Pfizer will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is 227.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Scott Gottlieb acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $28.24 per share, with a total value of $28,240.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $282,400. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pfizer

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 26,306 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $736,000 after buying an additional 342 shares during the period. Sachetta LLC raised its holdings in Pfizer by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 5,010 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $140,000 after acquiring an additional 342 shares during the period. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Pfizer by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC now owns 14,361 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $416,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares during the period. Ironvine Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Pfizer by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Ironvine Capital Partners LLC now owns 16,953 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $470,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares during the period. Finally, Secure Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 58,328 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,632,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

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.