Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein

Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) in a report released on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued a market perform rating and a $32.00 price target on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also commented on PFE. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded Pfizer from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $28.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Pfizer from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Pfizer from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Pfizer from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Pfizer from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.91.

Pfizer Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PFE opened at $29.28 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $165.89 billion, a P/E ratio of -487.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $29.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $28.42. Pfizer has a twelve month low of $25.20 and a twelve month high of $32.68.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $13.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.96 billion. Pfizer had a negative net margin of 4.66% and a positive return on equity of 8.42%. Pfizer’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.67 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Pfizer will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -2,800.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. LGT Group Foundation boosted its position in Pfizer by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. LGT Group Foundation now owns 742,875 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $20,786,000 after acquiring an additional 18,274 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC raised its holdings in Pfizer by 1,729.9% in the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 47,028 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,327,000 after purchasing an additional 44,458 shares in the last quarter. Kempner Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Pfizer during the first quarter valued at $2,439,000. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 10.3% during the 3rd quarter. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd now owns 256,460 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $7,422,000 after buying an additional 23,928 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI grew its position in shares of Pfizer by 29.1% in the 2nd quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 342,361 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $9,579,000 after buying an additional 77,073 shares during the period. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by 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.