Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Trading Up 0.6% – Should You Buy?

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) shares rose 0.6% on Monday . The company traded as high as $25.25 and last traded at $24.95. Approximately 12,913,725 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 66% from the average daily volume of 38,117,711 shares. The stock had previously closed at $24.80.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised Pfizer from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Daiwa America upgraded Pfizer from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Pfizer from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Pfizer in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on Pfizer in a report on Friday. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.92.

Pfizer Trading Up 0.4 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firm has a market cap of $141.05 billion, a PE ratio of 33.72, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.67. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $28.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.67.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.42. The company had revenue of $17.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.92 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 7.07% and a return on equity of 16.28%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.17) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. Pfizer’s payout ratio is currently 227.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Trading of Pfizer

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Pfizer in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Gladius Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 102.8% in the 3rd quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 1,043 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 38,015 shares during the last quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Pfizer in the second quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Pfizer in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Hedge funds and other 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.