Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Trading Down 0.4% – Time to Sell?

Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) traded down 0.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $28.31 and last traded at $28.40. 5,187,743 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 37,063,160 shares. The stock had previously closed at $28.52.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI raised Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com raised Pfizer from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Pfizer in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 target price on the stock. Daiwa Capital Markets raised Pfizer from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $28.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Pfizer has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $33.58.

Pfizer Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $29.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $159.18 billion, a PE ratio of 37.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.67.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.42. Pfizer had a net margin of 7.07% and a return on equity of 16.40%. The business had revenue of $17.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.92 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.17) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.98%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is presently 227.03%.

Insider Activity at Pfizer

In related news, Director Scott Gottlieb purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $28.24 per share, with a total value of $28,240.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $282,400. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Pfizer

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Costello Asset Management INC raised its holdings in Pfizer by 461.9% in the 3rd quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 56,925 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,647,000 after acquiring an additional 46,795 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in Pfizer by 371.6% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 10,079 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $292,000 after acquiring an additional 7,942 shares during the last quarter. XML Financial LLC raised its holdings in Pfizer by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 182,019 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,268,000 after acquiring an additional 2,690 shares during the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc raised its holdings in Pfizer by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 300,430 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $8,694,000 after acquiring an additional 3,243 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kerusso Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Kerusso Capital Management LLC now owns 111,081 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,215,000 after buying an additional 6,759 shares during 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.