Pfizer Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:PFE)

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Traders purchased 190,700 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 24% compared to the typical volume of 153,947 put options.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Pfizer in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Gladius Capital Management LP lifted its holdings 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 in the last quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Pfizer in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Pfizer in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Pfizer during the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on PFE shares. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 price target on the stock. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Pfizer in a report on Friday. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 price objective for the company. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Pfizer from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Pfizer from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Pfizer currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.92.

Pfizer Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PFE traded down $1.33 on Friday, reaching $24.69. 7,016,707 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 37,672,426. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Pfizer has a 1-year low of $24.65 and a 1-year high of $31.54. The firm has a market cap of $139.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a 50-day moving average of $28.71 and a 200-day moving average of $28.65.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $17.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.92 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 7.07% and a return on equity of 16.28%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.17) EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Pfizer will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.80%. Pfizer’s payout ratio is 227.03%.

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.