Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Stock Price Up 0.9% – Should You Buy?

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)’s stock price was up 0.9% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $26.21 and last traded at $26.25. Approximately 9,038,566 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 72% from the average daily volume of 32,665,531 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.01.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $29.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Pfizer in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Pfizer in a report on Friday, October 25th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 price objective on the stock. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Pfizer from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.00.

Pfizer Trading Up 1.2 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $149.24 billion, a PE ratio of 35.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.00. The business’s 50-day moving average is $26.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.96.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $17.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.92 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 16.28% and a net margin of 7.07%. The business’s revenue was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.17) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. This is an increase from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.53%. Pfizer’s payout ratio is presently 227.03%.

Insider Activity 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 price of $28.24 per share, for a total transaction of $28,240.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $282,400. This represents a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Pfizer

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFE. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pfizer during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $224,000. Fred Alger Management LLC lifted its stake in Pfizer by 6.6% during the second quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 95,592 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,675,000 after purchasing an additional 5,932 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Europe London LLP bought a new stake in Pfizer in the second quarter valued at $3,698,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in Pfizer in the second quarter valued at $3,452,000. Finally, Caxton Associates LP bought a new stake in Pfizer in the second quarter valued at $738,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

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.