Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE – Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders acquired 170,284 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 47% compared to the average volume of 115,735 call options.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in Pfizer by 19.4% during the first quarter. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,352 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 382 shares during the period. Eagle Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Pfizer by 0.3% in the first quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 126,573 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,554,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares during the period. Delta Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Pfizer by 1.6% in the first quarter. Delta Financial Advisors LLC now owns 25,266 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $709,000 after acquiring an additional 398 shares during the period. Pines Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Pines Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,430 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $235,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mount Vernon Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Mount Vernon Associates Inc. MD now owns 41,919 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,177,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
PFE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $26.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Pfizer from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Pfizer from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 13th. HSBC cut Pfizer from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $32.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Pfizer from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $28.28.
Key Headlines Impacting Pfizer
Here are the key news stories impacting Pfizer this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Positive cancer-vaccine read-through: Merck and Moderna reported an encouraging update from a clinical trial testing an mRNA-based cancer vaccine. Although Pfizer was not directly involved, the results lifted sentiment toward mRNA and next-generation cancer treatments—areas relevant to Pfizer’s oncology strategy and antibody-drug-conjugate intellectual property. Pfizer Stock Rallies Thanks to Merck and Moderna Cancer Trial Update
- Positive Sentiment: Lyme vaccine filing advances: The European Medicines Agency validated Pfizer and Valneva’s marketing application for their Lyme disease vaccine candidate, confirming that it is ready for full regulatory review. Late-stage data showed 73% efficacy and encouraging safety results, improving the potential for future product revenue, milestones, and royalties if approved. Pfizer Gets EMA Lyme Vaccine Filing Validation
- Positive Sentiment: Obesity pipeline progresses: Pfizer completed a Phase 1 study of experimental obesity drug PF-08653944. The program remains early-stage and carries substantial development risk, but progress could help Pfizer compete in the large obesity-treatment market. Pfizer Advances Early Obesity Drug
- Neutral Sentiment: Broad healthcare support: Healthcare indexes gained during Tuesday trading, providing a favorable backdrop for PFE and other pharmaceutical stocks. The sector-wide move may have contributed to Pfizer’s strength independently of company-specific news. Healthcare Stocks Climb Late Afternoon
- Negative Sentiment: Patent-cliff risk remains: Analysts continue to view Pfizer as attractively valued, but warn that upcoming patent expirations could pressure revenue and earnings as key products face generic or biosimilar competition. Pfizer Still Cheap Valuation Meets a Looming Patent Cliff
Pfizer Stock Up 3.2%
Shares of PFE stock traded up $0.88 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $28.12. 36,926,558 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 42,109,918. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $25.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.21. The company has a market cap of $160.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.01 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Pfizer has a 12 month low of $23.58 and a 12 month high of $28.75.
Pfizer (NYSE:PFE – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.09. Pfizer had a net margin of 6.80% and a return on equity of 19.63%. The company had revenue of $15.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.78 EPS. Pfizer’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Pfizer has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.800-3.000 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Pfizer will post 2.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Pfizer Announces Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 24th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 226.32%.
Pfizer Company Profile
Pfizer Inc (NYSE: PFE) is a multinational biopharmaceutical company headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1849 by Charles Pfizer and Charles Erhart, the company researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes a broad range of medicines and vaccines for human health. Its activities span discovery research, clinical development, regulatory affairs, manufacturing and global commercial distribution across multiple therapeutic areas.
Pfizer’s portfolio and pipeline cover oncology, immunology, cardiology, endocrinology, rare diseases, hospital acute care and anti-infectives, along with a substantial vaccine business.
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