Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Trading Up 1.3% - What's Next?

Key Points

• Pfizer shares rose 1.3% on Friday to about $27.58 (intraday high $27.67) on roughly 29.96 million shares traded, a ~32% decline from average daily volume.
• Wall Street's consensus is a Hold with an average price target of $28.45, though analysts are mixed—some raised targets to $32–$36 while Barclays initiated at underweight with a $25 target.
• Pfizer beat Q4 expectations with EPS of $0.66 versus $0.57 estimated and revenue of $17.56 billion (vs. $16.93B est.), but revenue was down 1.2% year-over-year.

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report)'s stock price was up 1.3% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $27.67 and last traded at $27.58. Approximately 29,955,689 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 32% from the average daily volume of 43,760,746 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.22.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on PFE shares. Barclays started coverage on Pfizer in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. They set an "underweight" rating and a $25.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Pfizer from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. 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. Guggenheim upped their price target on Pfizer from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Pfizer from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Pfizer currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $28.45.

Pfizer Stock Up 1.3%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $26.02. The company has a market capitalization of $156.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.28 and a beta of 0.43.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.66 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 company had revenue of $17.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.63 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Pfizer

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PFE. Horizon Financial Services LLC raised its stake 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 valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 645 shares in the last quarter. Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in Pfizer in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. HFM Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Pfizer by 61.0% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Pfizer in the third quarter valued at $29,000. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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