Investors Buy High Volume of Pfizer Put Options (NYSE:PFE)

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) saw unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Investors acquired 190,700 put options on the company. This is an increase of 24% compared to the average daily volume of 153,947 put options.

Pfizer Stock Down 2.6 %

PFE traded down $0.70 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $26.02. 43,752,656 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 37,804,309. Pfizer has a 1-year low of $25.20 and a 1-year high of $31.54. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $28.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.67. The stock has a market cap of $147.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.74, a PEG ratio of 0.83 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.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $17.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.92 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.17) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Pfizer will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 227.03%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Scott Gottlieb bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 purchase, the director now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $282,400. The trade was a 11.11 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pfizer

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fred Alger Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 7.4% in the third quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 102,668 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,971,000 after buying an additional 7,076 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 2.0% in the third quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 1,630,089 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $47,169,000 after buying an additional 32,524 shares during the period. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 3.0% in the third quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 263,531 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $7,627,000 after buying an additional 7,799 shares during the period. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Vinva Investment Management Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 312.5% in the third quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 193,465 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,628,000 after buying an additional 146,564 shares during the period. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on PFE shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Pfizer from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Pfizer in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Pfizer in a report on Friday, October 25th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Pfizer from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $33.58.

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.