Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Trading Up 1.8% – Still a Buy?

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) shares traded up 1.8% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $26.45 and last traded at $26.11. 12,197,163 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 38,374,086 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.65.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on PFE shares. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Pfizer in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI raised shares of Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Pfizer from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Daiwa America raised Pfizer from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded Pfizer from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $28.00 to $34.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Pfizer currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.92.

Pfizer Price Performance

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 stock has a market cap of $146.38 billion, a PE ratio of 34.91, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.67. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $27.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.52.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $17.70 billion for 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 company’s revenue was up 31.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.17) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

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 issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.50%. Pfizer’s payout ratio is 227.03%.

Insider Transactions at Pfizer

In other news, Director Scott Gottlieb acquired 1,000 shares of Pfizer stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was bought 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 in the company, valued at approximately $282,400. The trade was a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pfizer during the second quarter worth about $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 worth $30,000 after buying an additional 38,015 shares during the last quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Pfizer in the second quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new position in Pfizer in the second quarter valued at $34,000. 68.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.