Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Trading Up 1.1% – Should You Buy?

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)’s stock price shot up 1.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $26.86 and last traded at $26.83. 6,041,248 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 38,828,066 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.53.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PFE has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup initiated coverage on Pfizer in a research note on Friday, October 25th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Pfizer in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com cut Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.14.

Pfizer Price Performance

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $26.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.07. The company has a market capitalization of $150.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.93, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.65. 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 earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $17.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.92 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 16.28% and a net margin of 7.07%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.17) EPS. Analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.47%. This is a positive change from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is presently 232.43%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Scott Gottlieb purchased 1,000 shares of Pfizer stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $28.24 per share, for a total transaction of $28,240.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $282,400. This represents a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Pfizer

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sachetta LLC lifted its position in shares of Pfizer by 7.3% in the second quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 5,010 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $140,000 after buying an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Pfizer by 2.5% during the third quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC now owns 14,361 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $416,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the period. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Pfizer by 0.7% during the third quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 49,216 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,424,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. raised its position in shares of Pfizer by 0.9% in the third quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. now owns 42,677 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,235,000 after purchasing an additional 377 shares during the period. Finally, MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 1.5% in the second quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. now owns 26,530 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $742,000 after buying an additional 386 shares during the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.