Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Tuesday.

PFE has been the topic of a number of other reports. Evercore ISI raised shares of Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Pfizer from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays upped their target price on Pfizer from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Friday, October 25th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.92.

Pfizer Stock Down 4.7 %

PFE stock opened at $24.80 on Tuesday. Pfizer has a one year low of $24.48 and a one year high of $31.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.00. The company has a fifty day moving average of $28.64 and a 200-day moving average of $28.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $140.54 billion, a PE ratio of 33.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.67.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.42. The firm had revenue of $17.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.92 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 7.07% and a return on equity of 16.28%. The firm’s revenue was up 31.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.17) earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Pfizer will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.77%. Pfizer’s payout ratio is 227.03%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Scott Gottlieb purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $28.24 per share, for a total transaction of $28,240.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $282,400. The trade was a 11.11 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Pfizer

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PFE. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Pfizer by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 130,143,942 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,766,366,000 after acquiring an additional 12,864,343 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in Pfizer by 279.3% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 5,378,173 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $150,481,000 after purchasing an additional 8,378,173 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 22.4% during 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 worth $1,101,713,000 after purchasing an additional 6,977,587 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the first quarter worth about $172,902,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the 3rd quarter valued at about $146,481,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.