Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Coverage Initiated at Wolfe Research

Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) in a report released on Friday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm issued an underperform rating and a $25.00 target price on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. UBS Group increased their target price on Pfizer from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Friday, October 25th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 price objective for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated 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. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.92.

Pfizer Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PFE traded down $1.22 on Friday, hitting $24.80. The stock had a trading volume of 131,074,383 shares, compared to its average volume of 38,229,605. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $28.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.00. Pfizer has a twelve month low of $24.48 and a twelve month high of $31.54. The company has a market capitalization of $140.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.67.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 7.07% and a return on equity of 16.28%. The firm had revenue of $17.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.92 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.17) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Pfizer will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. Pfizer’s payout ratio is 227.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pfizer

In other Pfizer news, Director Scott Gottlieb purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $28.24 per share, for a total transaction of $28,240.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pfizer

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pfizer in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Gladius Capital Management LP lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 38,015 shares in the last quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Pfizer in the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in Pfizer during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.