Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Stock Price Down 1.3% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Pfizer shares fell 1.3% after the company’s late-stage lung cancer drug, sigvotatug vedotin, failed to significantly improve overall survival in a Phase 3 trial, disappointing investors.
• Reuters and other reports said the drug missed the trial’s main goal, adding pressure to Pfizer’s pipeline and near-term sentiment. Pfizer noted some subgroup survival trends and a manageable safety profile, but the key efficacy endpoint was still missed.
• Despite the setback, analysts remain mixed on Pfizer: the stock has a consensus rating of Hold with an average target price of $28.82, while several firms still rate it a buy and point to longer-term pipeline potential.

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded down 1.3% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $24.69 and last traded at $24.75. Approximately 81,903,066 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 97% from the average session volume of 41,572,313 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.08.

Key Stories Impacting Pfizer

Here are the key news stories impacting Pfizer this week:

• Negative Sentiment: Pfizer’s late-stage lung cancer drug sigvotatug vedotin failed to significantly improve overall survival in the Phase 3 SigVie-002 study, disappointing investors and raising questions about the commercial value of the Seagen-acquired asset. Pfizer (PFE) Lung Cancer Drug Misses Survival Goal In Phase 3 Trial
• Negative Sentiment: Reuters also reported the experimental lung cancer treatment missed the main goal of the trial, reinforcing the negative read-through for Pfizer’s pipeline and near-term sentiment. Pfizer's experimental drug misses main goal of lung cancer trial
• Neutral Sentiment: Pfizer highlighted that a subgroup of patients showed more favorable survival trends and that the drug had a manageable safety profile, which may soften the blow but does not change the fact that the main efficacy bar was missed. Pfizer's Mixed Phase III Data for Sigvotatug Vedotin in NSCLC
• Neutral Sentiment: Separately, commentary about Pfizer’s obesity pipeline suggests the company could have future growth optionality, but that thesis is longer dated and is not offsetting today’s trial disappointment. Forget Novo Nordisk. Pfizer’s Obesity Pipeline Is Coming, and It Pays You 6.8% While You Wait

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on PFE shares. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Pfizer from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. HSBC upped their price objective on Pfizer from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Pfizer in a report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Wolfe Research reissued an "underperform" rating and issued a $26.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $28.82.

Pfizer Trading Down 1.3%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.25. The firm has a market cap of $141.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.89 and a beta of 0.34. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $26.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $26.33.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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. Pfizer had a return on equity of 19.44% and a net margin of 11.83%.The firm had revenue of $14.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.92 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. Pfizer has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.800-3.000 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th were paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.9%. Pfizer's dividend payout ratio is currently 131.30%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PFE. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Pfizer during the fourth quarter worth about $1,830,986,000. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in shares of Pfizer by 19.2% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 89,113,604 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,218,929,000 after acquiring an additional 14,342,946 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Pfizer by 38.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 48,514,971 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,208,023,000 after acquiring an additional 13,581,757 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 47.8% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 25,070,148 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $638,787,000 after purchasing an additional 8,108,887 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of Pfizer by 577.5% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 8,786,084 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $218,817,000 after purchasing an additional 7,489,189 shares during the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pfizer Company Profile

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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