Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Trading Down 2.5% – Here’s Why

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)’s stock price traded down 2.5% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $27.09 and last traded at $27.30. 22,392,527 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 40% from the average session volume of 37,245,855 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.99.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on PFE. StockNews.com upgraded Pfizer from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded Pfizer from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $28.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Barclays increased their target price on Pfizer from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Daiwa America raised shares of Pfizer from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $33.58.

Pfizer Price Performance

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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $28.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $28.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $154.98 billion, a PE ratio of 36.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.67.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Pfizer had a return on equity of 16.40% and a net margin of 7.07%. The company had revenue of $17.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.92 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.17) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. Pfizer’s payout ratio is currently 227.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pfizer

In other news, Director Scott Gottlieb purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $28.24 per share, for a total transaction of $28,240.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $282,400. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Pfizer

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PFE. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in Pfizer by 279.3% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 5,378,173 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $150,481,000 after buying an additional 8,378,173 shares during the period. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Pfizer during the 1st quarter worth approximately $172,902,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Pfizer in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $146,481,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its position in Pfizer by 24,961.6% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,497,886 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $69,891,000 after purchasing an additional 2,487,919 shares during the period. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its stake in Pfizer by 120.7% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 4,498,313 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $130,181,000 after purchasing an additional 2,459,666 shares in the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.