Bank of America Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Stock Price

Key Points

• Bank of America lowered Pfizer’s price target from $27 to $26 and kept a neutral rating, implying only modest upside from the current stock price.
• Wall Street sentiment remains mixed: the consensus rating is Hold, with an average target price of $28.56, while several firms have recently trimmed or raised their targets in opposite directions.
• Pfizer’s latest quarter topped expectations, with EPS of $0.75 and revenue of $14.45 billion, but the company still faces concerns about growth momentum and unresolved vaccine disputes in Poland and Romania.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) had its price objective lowered by analysts at Bank of America from $27.00 to $26.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "neutral" rating on the biopharmaceutical company's stock. Bank of America's target price suggests a potential upside of 7.19% from the company's current price.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on PFE. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and set a $26.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Guggenheim increased their target price on Pfizer from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Pfizer from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Pfizer from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated a "neutral" rating and set a $27.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $28.56.

Pfizer Stock Up 0.0%

NYSE PFE traded up $0.01 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $24.25. 14,144,687 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 42,506,410. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Pfizer has a 12 month low of $23.11 and a 12 month high of $28.75. The company has a 50 day moving average of $25.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $26.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $138.24 billion, a PE ratio of 18.51 and a beta of 0.35.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $14.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.84 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 19.44% and a net margin of 11.83%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.92 EPS. Pfizer has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.800-3.000 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Pfizer will post 2.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Pfizer

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Horizon Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 174.8% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 1,014 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 645 shares during the period. Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Pfizer during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in Pfizer during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. HFM Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 61.0% during the 4th quarter. HFM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,127 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 427 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Evolution Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Pfizer by 132.2% during the first quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. now owns 994 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 566 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Pfizer

Here are the key news stories impacting Pfizer this week:

• Positive Sentiment: The biggest catalyst is the FDA approval of PADCEV plus Keytruda for muscle-invasive bladder cancer, a label expansion that could support Pfizer’s oncology revenue stream and strengthen the company’s long-term growth story. Article: U.S. FDA Approves PADCEV plus Keytruda as Neoadjuvant and Adjuvant Treatment for Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer Regardless of Cisplatin Eligibility
• Positive Sentiment: Pfizer also disclosed updates from ongoing clinical work, including its lorlatinib lung cancer study and a Phase 1 bioavailability study, which keep attention on its pipeline and suggest continued development activity across key programs. Article: Pfizer’s Lorlatinib Lung Cancer Study Wraps Up, Offering Fresh Signals for PFE Investors Article: Pfizer Refines Early-Stage Drug Formulations With New Phase 1 Bioavailability Study
• Positive Sentiment: Investors are also encouraged by commentary that Pfizer has a solid chance to beat earnings expectations again, which supports the idea that the stock may be undervalued if execution improves. Article: Will Pfizer (PFE) Beat Estimates Again in Its Next Earnings Report?
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles focused on Pfizer as a value and dividend stock, reinforcing its appeal to income investors, but these pieces do not appear to add a new near-term catalyst by themselves. Article: McDonald’s or Pfizer: One Offers Real Growth, One Just Pays You to Wait
• Negative Sentiment: Offsetting the upbeat pipeline news, Pfizer continues to face questions about growth momentum and the performance of the Seagen acquisition, while vaccine disputes with Poland and Romania remain unresolved and could keep legal and political pressure on the company. Article: Market Chatter: Pfizer's Vaccine Disputes With Poland, Romania Continue Article: Jim Cramer on Pfizer: “I Can’t Come Up With Where the Growth Is”

About Pfizer

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.

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