Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Trading Up 1.4% - What's Next?

Key Points

• Pfizer shares rose 1.4% in midday trading, hitting as high as $26.21 as volume came in below average. The stock closed previously at $25.69.
• Investor attention is being driven by pipeline progress, including a licensing deal with Chai Discovery for early access to the Chai-3 AI platform and updates on Phase 3 vaccine and oncology studies.
• Pfizer recently beat quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $0.75 on revenue of $14.45 billion, and it also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.43 per share, implying a 6.6% annual yield.

Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) were up 1.4% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $26.21 and last traded at $26.0430. Approximately 31,712,250 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 23% from the average daily volume of 41,159,305 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.69.

Key Stories Impacting Pfizer

Here are the key news stories impacting Pfizer this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Pfizer announced a licensing agreement with Chai Discovery that gives it early access to the new Chai-3 AI platform, which could improve its ability to identify and design new drug candidates faster and more efficiently. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The company also disclosed ongoing clinical progress in multiple programs, including a Phase 3 infant pneumococcal vaccine trial and new oncology studies in lung and bladder cancer, which supports Pfizer’s pipeline growth narrative. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Investors are also focusing on Pfizer’s broader oncology expansion, including combination-trial updates with Astellas and a new PF-08634404 study, which could add future revenue opportunities if results are favorable. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles discussed Pfizer’s recent post-earnings weakness and valuation/dividend comparisons, but these were more commentary than new company-specific developments.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PFE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "underperform" rating and set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Zacks Research upgraded Pfizer from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $30.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Barclays started coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. They set an "underweight" rating and a $25.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wolfe Research reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $28.82.

Pfizer Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $148.43 billion, a PE ratio of 19.88 and a beta of 0.34. 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 stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $26.29.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Pfizer had a return on equity of 19.44% and a net margin of 11.83%.The firm had revenue of $14.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.84 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.92 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. Pfizer has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.800-3.000 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.99 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 8th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.6%. Pfizer's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 131.30%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Pfizer during the 4th quarter worth $1,830,986,000. Morgan Stanley raised its position in Pfizer by 19.2% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 89,113,604 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,218,929,000 after purchasing an additional 14,342,946 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Pfizer by 38.9% in 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 purchasing an additional 13,581,757 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 47.8% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 25,070,148 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $638,787,000 after buying an additional 8,108,887 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in shares of Pfizer by 577.5% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 8,786,084 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $218,817,000 after buying an additional 7,489,189 shares in the last quarter. 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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