Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Trading 2% Higher – Here’s Why

Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) shot up 2% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $26.89 and last traded at $26.61. 16,809,888 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 50% from the average session volume of 33,676,488 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.09.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PFE. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Evercore ISI upgraded Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Pfizer in a report on Friday, October 25th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Pfizer presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.00.

Pfizer Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $26.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market cap of $151.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.09, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64.

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. Pfizer had a return on equity of 16.28% and a net margin of 7.07%. The business had revenue of $17.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.92 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.17) earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.94 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is a positive change from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.44%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is presently 227.03%.

Insider Transactions at Pfizer

In other Pfizer news, Director Scott Gottlieb bought 1,000 shares of Pfizer stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $28.24 per share, with a total value of $28,240.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $282,400. This trade represents a 11.11 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pfizer

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in Pfizer during the fourth quarter worth $43,000. Alexander Labrunerie & CO. Inc. raised its position in shares of Pfizer by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Alexander Labrunerie & CO. Inc. now owns 45,777 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,214,000 after acquiring an additional 681 shares during the period. Ping Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Pfizer by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Ping Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $398,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Stratos Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Pfizer by 36.9% in the 4th quarter. Stratos Investment Management LLC now owns 20,430 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $542,000 after purchasing an additional 5,502 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Silverlake Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Pfizer by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. Silverlake Wealth Management LLC now owns 76,689 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,035,000 after purchasing an additional 5,966 shares during the period. 68.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.