Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Trading 0.4% Higher – Still a Buy?

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) shot up 0.4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $26.50 and last traded at $26.42. 6,404,602 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 35,703,009 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.31.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Pfizer from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.92.

Pfizer Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The stock has a market cap of $148.00 billion, a PE ratio of 18.52, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.61.

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

Insider Transactions at Pfizer

In related news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock bought 19,457 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $25.65 per share, with a total value 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 approximately $710,684.55. This represents a 235.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PFE. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Pfizer in the fourth quarter worth about $2,328,986,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted 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 in the last quarter. Starboard Value LP acquired a new position in shares of Pfizer in the fourth quarter worth about $407,730,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Pfizer in the fourth quarter worth about $274,694,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

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.