Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Shares Up 1.5% – Should You Buy?

Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) traded up 1.5% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $26.54 and last traded at $26.24. 38,537,859 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 8% from the average session volume of 41,688,742 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.85.

Key Headlines Impacting Pfizer

Here are the key news stories impacting Pfizer this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Pfizer advanced several late-stage pipeline programs, including a next-generation infant pneumococcal vaccine trial and a new Phase 3 obesity study, giving investors more reasons to watch for future growth catalysts. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: BofA raised its price target on Pfizer to $27 from $26 after the company’s strong first-quarter results, citing improved revenue and earnings expectations. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to point to Pfizer’s new launches, acquired Seagen assets, and ongoing pipeline progress as key offsets to future patent-cliff pressure. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Pfizer’s investment narrative is increasingly split: some Wall Street models see upside from pipeline potential and exclusivity, while others focus on the looming $15 billion to $20 billion revenue cliff from loss of exclusivity. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent articles also highlighted broader interest in Pfizer as a defensive dividend stock and a possible value pick, but these pieces were more commentary than direct catalysts. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Long-term patent-expiration concerns remain a drag on sentiment, with investors still focused on how Pfizer will replace revenue as major products lose exclusivity over the next several years. Article Title

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. HSBC upped their price objective on Pfizer from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $27.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $25.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Pfizer from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group lowered Pfizer from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $27.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $28.61.

Pfizer Stock Up 1.5%

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $26.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $149.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.03 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.03. Pfizer had a return on equity of 19.44% and a net margin of 11.83%.The firm had revenue of $14.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.84 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.92 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. Pfizer has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.800-3.000 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.99 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 8th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 131.30%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pfizer

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Pfizer by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 541,346,182 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $13,479,520,000 after acquiring an additional 7,031,162 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Pfizer by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 300,445,164 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $7,481,085,000 after acquiring an additional 1,357,756 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Pfizer by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 130,192,081 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,235,642,000 after acquiring an additional 1,184,728 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its position in shares of Pfizer by 19.2% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 89,113,604 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,218,929,000 after acquiring an additional 14,342,946 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Pfizer during the fourth quarter worth about $1,830,986,000. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.