Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) saw a significant decline in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 73,570,000 shares, a decline of 19.8% from the January 15th total of 91,780,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 43,750,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.7 days.

Insider Activity at Pfizer

In other news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock purchased 19,457 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $25.65 per share, for a total transaction of $499,072.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $710,684.55. This trade represents a 235.84 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Pfizer

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Pfizer in the fourth quarter worth about $2,328,986,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake 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 worth $4,124,330,000 after acquiring an additional 25,315,159 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Pfizer in the fourth quarter worth about $274,694,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake 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 worth $1,101,713,000 after acquiring an additional 6,977,587 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 76,502,238 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,029,604,000 after acquiring an additional 5,350,381 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Stock Down 0.6 %

Pfizer stock opened at $25.50 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $144.48 billion, a PE ratio of 18.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.00. Pfizer has a one year low of $24.48 and a one year high of $31.54. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $26.28 and a 200 day moving average of $27.56.

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

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.75%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This is a positive change from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Pfizer’s payout ratio is currently 121.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on PFE. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Pfizer from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Pfizer in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI upgraded Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $29.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.92.

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.