Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Shares Down 2.1% – Time to Sell?

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) was down 2.1% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $21.75 and last traded at $22.50. Approximately 31,349,641 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 21% from the average daily volume of 39,438,266 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.97.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on PFE. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Hsbc Global Res raised Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $29.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Pfizer presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.92.

Pfizer Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $128.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company’s fifty day moving average is $25.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.67.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Pfizer

In other Pfizer news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock bought 19,457 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was purchased 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 owns 27,707 shares in the company, valued at approximately $710,684.55. The trade was a 235.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pfizer

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PFE. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 518,535,151 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $13,756,738,000 after acquiring an additional 2,285,276 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 19.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 155,459,101 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,124,330,000 after purchasing an additional 25,315,159 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Pfizer by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 120,589,782 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,190,131,000 after buying an additional 2,923,537 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Pfizer during the fourth quarter worth about $2,328,986,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Pfizer by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 76,502,238 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,029,604,000 after buying an additional 5,350,381 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.