Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Stock Price Up 1.2% – What’s Next?

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)’s stock price rose 1.2% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $26.16 and last traded at $26.15. Approximately 7,512,817 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 38,365,898 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.83.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on PFE shares. Daiwa Capital Markets raised Pfizer from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $28.00 to $34.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Evercore ISI raised Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com lowered Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Pfizer in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Pfizer in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.92.

Pfizer Price Performance

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 stock has a market capitalization of $148.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.34, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.67. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.51.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.42. Pfizer had a return on equity of 16.28% and a net margin of 7.07%. The business had revenue of $17.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.17) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.42%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 227.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pfizer

In other Pfizer news, Director Scott Gottlieb acquired 1,000 shares of Pfizer stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $28.24 per share, with a total value of $28,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $282,400. The trade was a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pfizer

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Gladius Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of Pfizer by 102.8% in the 3rd quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 1,043 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 38,015 shares in the last quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Pfizer during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in Pfizer in the second quarter valued at about $34,000. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.