Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Shares Down 0.8% Following Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) traded down 0.8% during trading on Thursday after UBS Group lowered their price target on the stock from $31.00 to $29.00. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Pfizer traded as low as $26.23 and last traded at $26.92. 35,409,555 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 2% from the average session volume of 36,075,523 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.13.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on PFE. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $29.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Pfizer in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 price objective on the stock. Guggenheim cut their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Pfizer in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on Pfizer in a research note on Friday, October 25th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Scott Gottlieb bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $28.24 per share, for a total transaction of $28,240.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $282,400. This trade represents a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pfizer

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Eagle Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 25.8% in the second quarter. Eagle Strategies LLC now owns 13,363 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $374,000 after buying an additional 2,739 shares during the period. Morningstar Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Morningstar Investment Management LLC now owns 38,186 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,068,000 after buying an additional 1,170 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Pfizer by 25.4% during the 2nd quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 60,281 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,687,000 after buying an additional 12,208 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in Pfizer by 5.2% in the second quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 12,589 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $352,000 after acquiring an additional 620 shares during the period. Finally, Valley Wealth Managers Inc. increased its holdings in Pfizer by 17.9% during the 2nd quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 649,809 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $18,182,000 after purchasing an additional 98,802 shares in the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Pfizer Trading Down 0.5 %

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 $151.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.64. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $26.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.04.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.42. Pfizer had a net margin of 7.07% and a return on equity of 16.28%. The firm had revenue of $17.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.92 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.17) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.43%. This is a boost from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. Pfizer’s payout ratio is presently 232.43%.

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.