Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Shares Down 0.6% – Here’s Why

by · The Markets Daily

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE – Get Free Report)’s stock price fell 0.6% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $24.81 and last traded at $24.94. 8,742,763 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 38,278,762 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.10.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on PFE shares. Citigroup began coverage on Pfizer in a report on Friday, October 25th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 target price on the stock. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded Pfizer from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $28.00 to $34.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Pfizer from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Pfizer has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.92.

Read Our Latest Research Report on PFE

Pfizer Trading Up 0.5 %

The company has a fifty day moving average of $28.28 and a 200-day moving average of $28.58. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $142.03 billion, a PE ratio of 33.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.67.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $17.70 billion during 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 31.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.17) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.70%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is currently 227.03%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Scott Gottlieb purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were bought at an average price of $28.24 per share, with a total value of $28,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $282,400. This trade represents a 11.11 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Pfizer by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 130,143,942 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,766,366,000 after purchasing an additional 12,864,343 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in shares of Pfizer by 279.3% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 5,378,173 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $150,481,000 after buying an additional 8,378,173 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 22.4% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 38,068,879 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,101,713,000 after buying an additional 6,977,587 shares during the period. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Pfizer during the first quarter worth about $172,902,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Pfizer during the third quarter valued at about $146,481,000. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Pfizer

(Get Free Report)

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.

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