Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Shares Down 1.8% – Here’s Why

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)’s share price traded down 1.8% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $26.89 and last traded at $26.97. 17,406,732 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 53% from the average session volume of 37,406,023 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.46.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PFE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup assumed coverage on Pfizer in a research report on Friday, October 25th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 target price on the stock. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Pfizer from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded shares of Pfizer from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $28.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $33.58.

Pfizer Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $28.89 and a 200-day moving average of $28.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 1.00. The stock has a market cap of $151.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.11, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.67.

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

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.29%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is currently 227.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pfizer

In other Pfizer news, Director Scott Gottlieb purchased 1,000 shares of Pfizer stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $28.24 per share, with a total value of $28,240.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $282,400. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Pfizer

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PFE. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Pfizer during the second quarter worth $25,000. Gladius Capital Management LP raised its stake in 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 purchasing 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 worth about $29,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Pfizer in the second quarter valued at approximately $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.