Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Stock Falls 2.9% – Time to Sell?

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) shares dropped 2.9% during mid-day trading on Thursday. The stock traded as low as $29.85 and last traded at $29.9070. 52,544,898 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 32% from the average daily volume of 39,817,523 shares. The stock had previously closed at $30.79.

Key Headlines Impacting Pfizer

Here are the key news stories impacting Pfizer this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Pfizer’s third-quarter results beat analyst expectations, and the company raised its 2026 earnings outlook. Reports also highlighted momentum from newer products, although margin pressure remains a concern. Pfizer Q3 Earnings Rebuild Confidence As New Drugs Gain Ground
• Positive Sentiment: Guggenheim reiterated a Buy view and raised its price target to $33 from $31, signaling potential upside in the analyst’s view. Pfizer Receives a Buy from Guggenheim
• Neutral Sentiment: Pfizer updated an ulcerative-colitis treatment-pattern study and advanced a Phase 3 RSV-vaccine study in high-risk children. The announcements describe ongoing research; no efficacy or safety results were provided in the summaries. Pfizer Advances Phase 3 RSV Vaccine Study
• Negative Sentiment: DZ Bank cut its rating on Pfizer from Buy to Hold, a less favorable view that may temper optimism from other analysts. Pfizer also lagged in a news report focused on Moderna’s earnings-driven gain, though that comparison is not a change in Pfizer’s fundamentals. DZ Bank recommendations Moderna Climbs as Pfizer Dips

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on PFE shares. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Pfizer from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group upped their target price on Pfizer from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. FBN Securities set a $34.00 price target on Pfizer in a research note on Friday. DZ Bank cut shares of Pfizer from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 10th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Pfizer has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.39.

Pfizer Trading Down 1.7%

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $28.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $26.90. The firm has a market cap of $167.46 billion, a PE ratio of 41.97, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.31. 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 released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.13. Pfizer had a net margin of 6.80% and a return on equity of 19.63%. The firm had revenue of $16.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.85 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.87 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 3.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 6th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.9%. Pfizer’s payout ratio is presently 245.71%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pfizer

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PFE. BlackRock Inc. grew its position 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 last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 1.8% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 307,090,897 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $7,394,749,000 after buying an additional 5,501,032 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 7.4% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 57,879,546 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,393,739,000 after buying an additional 3,999,646 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,049,602,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Pfizer by 0.8% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 36,422,799 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,022,606,000 after acquiring an additional 293,029 shares in the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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