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Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Given New $28.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

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Key Points

  • Morgan Stanley raised its price target on Pfizer from $27 to $28 and maintained an "equal weight" rating, implying roughly a 3.7% upside.
  • The analyst consensus shows an average target of $28.14 and a prevailing "Hold" view (1 Strong Buy, 5 Buy, 14 Hold, 3 Sell).
  • Pfizer beat Q4 estimates (EPS $0.66 vs. $0.57; revenue $17.56B vs. $16.93B), and the stock trades around $27 with a market cap of about $153.5B and a P/E near 19.9.
  • Interested in Pfizer? Here are five stocks we like better.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) had its target price lifted by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $27.00 to $28.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "equal weight" rating on the biopharmaceutical company's stock. Morgan Stanley's price target indicates a potential upside of 3.72% from the company's current price.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. HSBC upped their price target on Pfizer from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th. Wolfe Research set a $24.00 target price on Pfizer and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their target price on Pfizer from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $28.14.

Get Our Latest Report on Pfizer

Pfizer Price Performance

Shares of PFE traded down $0.23 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $27.00. The stock had a trading volume of 8,192,699 shares, compared to its average volume of 44,471,402. The company's 50-day moving average is $27.19 and its 200 day moving average is $25.91. Pfizer has a 12-month low of $21.28 and a 12-month high of $28.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a market capitalization of $153.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.86 and a beta of 0.43.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.09. Pfizer had a return on equity of 20.48% and a net margin of 12.42%.The firm had revenue of $17.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.63 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Pfizer will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Pfizer

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Horizon Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 174.8% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 1,014 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 645 shares during the period. Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Pfizer during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new position in shares of Pfizer during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. HFM Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Pfizer by 61.0% during the fourth quarter. HFM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,127 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 427 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Pfizer

Here are the key news stories impacting Pfizer this week:

About Pfizer

(Get Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

Analyst Recommendations for Pfizer (NYSE:PFE)

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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