Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) Short Interest Update

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 89,120,000 shares, an increase of 21.1% from the January 31st total of 73,570,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 40,130,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.2 days.

Pfizer Stock Up 1.8 %

Pfizer stock opened at $26.71 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $151.35 billion, a PE ratio of 18.94, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.61. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average price is $26.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.25. Pfizer has a twelve month low of $24.48 and a twelve month high of $31.54.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.15. Pfizer had a net margin of 12.62% and a return on equity of 19.47%. The company had revenue of $17.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.10 EPS. Pfizer’s quarterly revenue was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Pfizer will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is a positive change from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.44%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is 121.99%.

Insider Activity at Pfizer

In other Pfizer news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock bought 19,457 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $25.65 per share, with a total value of $499,072.05. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 27,707 shares in the company, valued at approximately $710,684.55. This trade represents a 235.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pfizer during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Clarity Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Gould Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 97.2% during the 4th quarter. Gould Capital LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 493 shares during the period. Finally, Gladius Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 102.8% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PFE has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Pfizer from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Pfizer has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.92.

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.