Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Wolfe Research

Equities researchers at Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) in a report issued on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm set an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 price target on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. Wolfe Research’s price target would suggest a potential downside of 3.92% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. StockNews.com raised Pfizer from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Daiwa America raised Pfizer from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. One investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.92.

Pfizer Price Performance

NYSE:PFE opened at $26.02 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $28.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.67. The stock has a market cap of $147.46 billion, a PE ratio of 35.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.00. Pfizer has a one year low of $25.20 and a one year high of $31.54.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Pfizer news, Director Scott Gottlieb bought 1,000 shares of Pfizer stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $28.24 per share, with a total value of $28,240.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $282,400. This represents a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pfizer

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFE. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 11.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 130,143,942 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,766,366,000 after acquiring an additional 12,864,343 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Pfizer by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 71,794,056 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,008,798,000 after purchasing an additional 2,241,609 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Pfizer by 22.4% in the 3rd 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 valued at $1,101,713,000 after purchasing an additional 6,977,587 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank increased its position in Pfizer by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 16,819,712 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $486,762,000 after purchasing an additional 100,900 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 16,560,256 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $477,929,000 after buying an additional 456,168 shares during the period. 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.