Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Evercore ISI

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) was upgraded by equities researchers at Evercore ISI to a “strong-buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded Pfizer from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $28.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Pfizer in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 price target on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Pfizer from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Pfizer from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $33.58.

Pfizer Price Performance

Shares of PFE opened at $28.29 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market cap of $160.31 billion, a PE ratio of 38.23, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.67. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $29.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.56. Pfizer has a twelve month low of $25.20 and a twelve month high of $31.54.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last released 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 business had revenue of $17.70 billion for 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 16.40%. Pfizer’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.17) EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Pfizer will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pfizer

In other Pfizer news, Director Scott Gottlieb acquired 1,000 shares of Pfizer stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $28.24 per share, with a total value of $28,240.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $282,400. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Pfizer during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Pfizer in the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pfizer in the 1st quarter worth approximately $37,000. 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.