Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Tuesday.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on PFE. Citigroup assumed coverage on Pfizer in a research note on Friday, October 25th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Pfizer from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays upped their price objective on Pfizer from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded Pfizer from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $28.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Pfizer presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $33.58.

Pfizer Trading Down 2.6 %

NYSE:PFE opened at $26.02 on Tuesday. Pfizer has a fifty-two week low of $25.20 and a fifty-two week high of $31.54. 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 stock has a market cap of $147.46 billion, a PE ratio of 35.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.67. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $28.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.67.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.42. The firm had revenue of $17.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.92 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 7.07% and a return on equity of 16.28%. The business’s revenue was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.17) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Pfizer will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.46%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 227.03%.

Insider Activity at Pfizer

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pfizer

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Pfizer in the third quarter worth about $1,839,000. Paradigm Capital Management LLC NV bought a new position in shares of Pfizer in the third quarter worth about $2,681,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Pfizer in the third quarter worth approximately $142,000. Lavaca Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Lavaca Capital LLC now owns 11,980 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $347,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares during the period. Finally, B&L Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Pfizer during the 3rd quarter valued at about $397,000. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.