Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Wednesday.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Daiwa America raised Pfizer from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Daiwa Capital Markets raised shares of Pfizer from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $28.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Pfizer from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.54.

Pfizer Stock Performance

PFE stock opened at $29.34 on Wednesday. Pfizer has a 1 year low of $25.20 and a 1 year high of $33.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $166.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -489.00, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.86. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $29.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.36.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.14. Pfizer had a negative net margin of 4.66% and a positive return on equity of 8.42%. The firm had revenue of $13.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.96 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.67 EPS. Pfizer’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Pfizer will post 2.66 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pfizer

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PFE. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 239,209,768 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $6,886,849,000 after acquiring an additional 11,099,024 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Pfizer by 3.2% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 71,794,056 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,008,798,000 after purchasing an additional 2,241,609 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of Pfizer by 1.8% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 16,104,088 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $450,593,000 after purchasing an additional 290,760 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in Pfizer by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 14,923,545 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $417,561,000 after purchasing an additional 470,003 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Pfizer by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,260,067 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $287,077,000 after buying an additional 238,850 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

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.