Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Stock Price Up 1.7% – Should You Buy?

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) shares shot up 1.7% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $29.09 and last traded at $29.0220. Approximately 39,035,343 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 7% from the average daily volume of 41,787,016 shares. The stock had previously closed at $28.55.

Key Headlines Impacting Pfizer

Here are the key news stories impacting Pfizer this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Litigation overhang diminished: Pfizer reached a confidential settlement covering more than 6,000 federal Depo-Provera lawsuits involving alleged intracranial meningioma risk. Although the financial terms were not disclosed and Pfizer admitted no liability, the agreement removes uncertainty surrounding a sizable product-liability dispute. Pfizer Reaches Confidential Settlement in Depo-Provera Litigation
• Positive Sentiment: Results and growth drivers are supporting sentiment: Recent coverage points to Pfizer’s second-quarter performance exceeding analyst expectations, with vaccine and oncology products helping the outlook. The company previously reported quarterly revenue of $15.03 billion and adjusted earnings of $0.77 per share, above consensus estimates, while maintaining fiscal 2026 earnings guidance of $2.80–$3.00 per share. Pfizer Stock Reaches 52-Week Peak Following Results and Settlement
• Positive Sentiment: Pipeline expansion: Pfizer’s asthma candidate PF-08103402 has entered a Phase 1 clinical study. Early-stage testing does not establish efficacy, but the program adds another potential long-term growth opportunity to Pfizer’s development pipeline. Pfizer’s New Asthma Candidate Enters Phase 1
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation debate: An analysis of whether investors should buy Pfizer below $30 argues that patient shareholders could be rewarded over the long term, but the stock’s recent rally means expectations and execution remain important. Should You Buy Pfizer Stock Below $30?
• Negative Sentiment: Options activity signals caution: Traders purchased approximately 147,173 put options, about 24% above typical daily put volume. This may indicate hedging or bearish positioning, although options activity alone does not determine Pfizer’s direction.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on PFE shares. Wolfe Research restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Guggenheim decreased their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $35.00 to $31.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $27.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Monday, July 6th. HSBC lowered shares of Pfizer from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $32.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Pfizer from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $28.28.

Pfizer Stock Up 1.7%

The firm has a market cap of $165.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.19 and a beta of 0.34. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $25.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $26.31. 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 (NYSE:PFE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $15.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 19.63% and a net margin of 6.80%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.78 EPS. Pfizer has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.800-3.000 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 24th were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 24th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.9%. Pfizer’s payout ratio is 226.32%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pfizer

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. raised its stake in Pfizer by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 529,670,433 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $12,754,464,000 after purchasing an additional 31,412,883 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Pfizer by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 300,445,164 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $7,481,085,000 after buying an additional 1,357,756 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 2,320.6% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 217,981,455 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,248,993,000 after buying an additional 208,976,273 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Pfizer by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 130,192,081 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,235,642,000 after buying an additional 1,184,728 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in Pfizer by 19.2% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

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.