Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Cut to "Hold" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Pfizer was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from “buy” to “hold”, reinforcing a cautious near-term outlook for the stock.
• Despite the downgrade, other brokerages remain mixed: several still have positive or neutral views, and Pfizer’s consensus rating is “Hold” with an average price target of $28.82.
• Pfizer recently beat quarterly expectations, reporting $0.75 EPS versus $0.72 expected and $14.45 billion in revenue, while management guided FY2026 EPS to $2.80–$3.00.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on PFE. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $30.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Monday, March 9th. CICC Research assumed coverage on Pfizer in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $33.00 price target on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded Pfizer from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Citigroup increased their price target on Pfizer from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded Pfizer from an "underperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and set a $25.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $28.82.

Pfizer Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of PFE opened at $26.19 on Friday. Pfizer has a 52 week low of $23.11 and a 52 week high of $28.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The company has a market capitalization of $149.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.99 and a beta of 0.34. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $26.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.32.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.03. The company 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%.Pfizer's revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.92 earnings per share. Pfizer has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.800-3.000 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Pfizer will post 2.99 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pfizer

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA acquired a new stake in Pfizer during the third quarter worth $16,613,000. Penn Davis Mcfarland Inc. increased its stake in Pfizer by 50.9% during the fourth quarter. Penn Davis Mcfarland Inc. now owns 171,332 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $4,266,000 after acquiring an additional 57,777 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in Pfizer by 119.6% during the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 3,106,644 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $79,157,000 after acquiring an additional 1,691,773 shares during the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Pfizer by 0.9% during the third quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 6,615,598 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $168,565,000 after acquiring an additional 56,484 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Pfizer by 48.2% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 18,373,140 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $468,174,000 after acquiring an additional 5,978,927 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.36% of the company's stock.

More Pfizer News

Here are the key news stories impacting Pfizer this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Pfizer’s new weight-loss data is being viewed as encouraging for its obesity franchise, potentially improving the competitive case for its pipeline and helping sentiment around future growth. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Pfizer’s expanded U.S. label for HYMPAVZI is adding to optimism around the hemophilia business by widening the addressable patient pool, which may support future specialty-drug sales. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: RBC recently upgraded Pfizer to Sector Perform, saying the valuation has reset and the risk-reward profile looks more balanced ahead of pipeline catalysts. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Some recent articles argue Pfizer’s Seagen oncology platform and newly acquired obesity assets could help offset patent-expiry and post-COVID revenue pressure, supporting a long-term turnaround thesis. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts currently rate Pfizer around Hold on average, suggesting the market sees limited near-term upside until more pipeline and commercial execution proves out. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Bearish commentary continues to highlight Pfizer’s dividend yield as a sign of underlying concern about cash flow, debt, and the company’s ability to support both payouts and reinvestment. Article Title

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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