Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Shares Down 1.7% – Time to Sell?

Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) were down 1.7% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $25.67 and last traded at $25.72. Approximately 8,793,693 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 38,437,582 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.17.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on PFE shares. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Pfizer from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.92.

Pfizer Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $146.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.91, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.67. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last released 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. Pfizer had a net margin of 7.07% and a return on equity of 16.28%. The company had revenue of $17.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.92 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.17) EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 31.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.50%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 227.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pfizer

In related news, Director Scott Gottlieb acquired 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $282,400. This represents a 11.11 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PFE. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pfizer in the first quarter valued at $342,000. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. boosted its stake in Pfizer by 6.1% during the first quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. now owns 72,256 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,005,000 after buying an additional 4,157 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc boosted its stake in Pfizer by 12.1% during the first quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 274,775 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $7,626,000 after buying an additional 29,688 shares during the period. Community Trust & Investment Co. boosted its stake in Pfizer by 40.6% during the first quarter. Community Trust & Investment Co. now owns 105,520 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,928,000 after buying an additional 30,472 shares during the period. Finally, Invst LLC boosted its stake in Pfizer by 80.0% during the first quarter. Invst LLC now owns 65,521 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,816,000 after buying an additional 29,118 shares during the period. 68.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.