Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Shares Up 0.3% – Here’s Why

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) shot up 0.3% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $25.63 and last traded at $25.63. 9,270,671 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 36,584,264 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.55.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PFE has been the subject of several recent research reports. 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. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Pfizer from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.92.

Pfizer Stock Down 0.6 %

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 company has a market capitalization of $144.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.61. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $26.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $27.00.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $17.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.26 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 19.47% and a net margin of 12.62%. The company’s revenue was up 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.10 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Pfizer news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock bought 19,457 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $25.65 per share, for a total transaction of $499,072.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 27,707 shares in the company, valued at approximately $710,684.55. The trade was a 235.84 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Pfizer by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 518,535,151 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $13,756,738,000 after buying an additional 2,285,276 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 3,405,539 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Pfizer by 19.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 155,459,101 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,124,330,000 after purchasing an additional 25,315,159 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Pfizer by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 120,589,782 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,190,131,000 after purchasing an additional 2,923,537 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the 4th quarter worth about $2,328,986,000. 68.36% of the stock is 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.