Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Trading Down 0.8% – Here’s Why

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) traded down 0.8% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $24.61 and last traded at $25.01. 12,092,606 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 69% from the average session volume of 38,933,814 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.21.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on PFE shares. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and set a $29.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on Pfizer from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.92.

Pfizer Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $139.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.39, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.61. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $26.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.84. 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 (NYSE:PFE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $17.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.26 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 19.47% and a net margin of 12.62%. The firm’s revenue was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.10 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock acquired 19,457 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $25.65 per share, for a total transaction of $499,072.05. Following the transaction, the director now owns 27,707 shares in the company, valued at approximately $710,684.55. This trade represents a 235.84 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Pfizer

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. United Bank grew its position in Pfizer by 3.7% during the third quarter. United Bank now owns 35,599 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,030,000 after purchasing an additional 1,277 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 1,399.9% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 240,258 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $6,953,000 after acquiring an additional 224,240 shares in the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Pfizer by 23.3% in the third quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 62,712 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,815,000 after acquiring an additional 11,867 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 31.9% during the third quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 102,353 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,962,000 after acquiring an additional 24,736 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in Pfizer by 5.2% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 3,219,490 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $93,146,000 after purchasing an additional 157,775 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.