Sector Gamma AS Sells 392,547 Shares of Pfizer Inc. $PFE

Key Points

• Sector Gamma AS cut its Pfizer stake by 31.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 392,547 shares and leaving it with 859,539 shares valued at about $21.4 million. Pfizer still makes up 4.9% of the fund’s portfolio and is its 7th-largest holding.
• Pfizer’s recent business news has been mostly positive, including an FDA label expansion for HYMPAVZI and continued pipeline progress in areas like pneumococcal, obesity, and early-stage research programs. These developments could help offset future revenue pressure from patent losses and slowing COVID-related sales.
• Wall Street remains cautious overall: analysts’ average rating is “Hold” with an average target price of $28.82, even though Pfizer beat quarterly earnings estimates and pays a hefty $0.43 quarterly dividend. The stock opened around $26.17, near its recent trading range.

Sector Gamma AS trimmed its stake in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 31.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 859,539 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 392,547 shares during the period. Pfizer comprises about 4.9% of Sector Gamma AS's portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Sector Gamma AS's holdings in Pfizer were worth $21,403,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings 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 period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 0.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 299,087,408 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $7,620,747,000 after acquiring an additional 2,786,098 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings 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 period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Pfizer in the fourth quarter valued at $1,830,986,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Pfizer by 1.4% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 64,019,807 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,631,225,000 after purchasing an additional 869,175 shares in the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More Pfizer News

Here are the key news stories impacting Pfizer this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Pfizer said the U.S. FDA expanded the label for HYMPAVZI to include more hemophilia A and B patients, including children ages 6-11 and patients with inhibitors, which could broaden sales potential in a high-value rare disease market. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: RBC Capital upgraded Pfizer to Sector Perform from Underperform, saying the stock’s valuation has reset and the risk/reward looks more balanced ahead of key pipeline catalysts. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Pfizer also highlighted ongoing clinical progress, including updates to trials for its next-gen pneumococcal shot, obesity candidate SOLIS-1, and early-stage research, reinforcing investor hopes that the pipeline can offset future patent and COVID-related revenue pressure. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Several brokerages now rate Pfizer around Hold, suggesting the market sees limited near-term upside until more proof emerges from the pipeline and growth strategy. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: One article warned that Pfizer’s rich dividend yield may reflect cash-flow and debt concerns, while another noted CEO Albert Bourla is reconsidering Germany investments because of drug-pricing policy risks, both of which could weigh on sentiment. Article Title

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. HSBC raised their target price on shares of Pfizer from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Pfizer from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised shares of Pfizer from an "underperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and set a $25.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $28.82.

Pfizer Stock Performance

Shares of PFE opened at $26.17 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $26.48 and a 200-day moving average of $26.32. Pfizer Inc. has a one year low of $23.11 and a one year high of $28.75. The company has a market cap of $149.15 billion, a PE ratio of 19.98 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.94.

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

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 8th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.6%. Pfizer's payout ratio is 131.30%.

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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