Pfizer Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:PFE)

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Stock traders bought 190,700 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 24% compared to the typical daily volume of 153,947 put options.

Pfizer Trading Down 4.7 %

PFE stock traded down $1.22 during trading on Friday, hitting $24.80. The company had a trading volume of 131,074,383 shares, compared to its average volume of 38,229,605. Pfizer has a one year low of $24.48 and a one year high of $31.54. The business has a 50-day moving average of $28.64 and a 200-day moving average of $28.64. The stock has a market cap of $140.54 billion, a PE ratio of 33.51, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

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, topping 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 return on equity of 16.28% and a net margin of 7.07%. The business’s revenue was up 31.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.17) EPS. Research analysts predict that Pfizer will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PFE has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Pfizer from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI upgraded Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Pfizer presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.92.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pfizer

In other Pfizer news, Director Scott Gottlieb acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, 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 acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Pfizer

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PFE. State Street Corp raised its stake in Pfizer by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 290,460,600 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $8,405,930,000 after buying an additional 3,405,539 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Pfizer by 11.0% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 130,143,942 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,766,366,000 after purchasing an additional 12,864,343 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 117,666,245 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,392,342,000 after purchasing an additional 1,855,419 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Pfizer by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 71,794,056 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,008,798,000 after purchasing an additional 2,241,609 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Pfizer by 22.4% during the 3rd 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 purchasing an additional 6,977,587 shares in the last quarter. 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.