Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) Short Interest Up 21.1% in February

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 89,120,000 shares, a growth of 21.1% from the January 31st total of 73,570,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 40,130,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.2 days.

Pfizer Price Performance

NYSE:PFE traded up $0.27 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $26.21. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 46,907,636 shares, compared to its average volume of 39,452,598. Pfizer has a fifty-two week low of $24.48 and a fifty-two week high of $31.54. 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 company has a market capitalization of $148.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $26.31 and a 200-day moving average of $27.27.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $17.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.26 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 12.62% and a return on equity of 19.47%. The company’s revenue was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.10 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Pfizer will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued 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 is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.56%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 121.99%.

Insider Transactions at Pfizer

In related news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock purchased 19,457 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $25.65 per share, with a total value of $499,072.05. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 27,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $710,684.55. The trade was a 235.84 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Pfizer

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,328,986,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 19.5% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Starboard Value LP acquired a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $407,730,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $274,694,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 22.4% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 38,068,879 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,101,713,000 after purchasing an additional 6,977,587 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on PFE. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Pfizer from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $29.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Pfizer presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.92.

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.