Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Trading Up 1.5% on Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Shares rose 1.5% after UBS raised its price target to $27 (retaining a neutral rating); the stock traded around $27.32 with roughly 44.1M shares changing hands, about 2% below average volume.
• Pfizer beat Q4 estimates with EPS of $0.66 versus $0.57 and revenue of $17.56B versus $16.93B, and the company has a market cap of about $155.4B and a PE of ~20.
• Analyst views are mixed—some upgrades from Guggenheim and Argus and an RBC underperform—leaving a MarketBeat consensus of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $28.24, while institutional investors own roughly 68.4% of the stock.

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) shares were up 1.5% on Monday after UBS Group raised their price target on the stock from $25.00 to $27.00. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Pfizer traded as high as $27.57 and last traded at $27.3240. Approximately 44,069,163 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 2% from the average daily volume of 44,758,160 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.92.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Pfizer from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $25.00 price target for the company. Argus upgraded Pfizer from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $35.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $28.24.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pfizer

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFE. Stance Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Pfizer by 26,746.0% in the 4th quarter. Stance Capital LLC now owns 26,846 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $668,000 after purchasing an additional 26,746 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its stake in Pfizer by 27.1% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 1,842,275 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $45,873,000 after buying an additional 392,913 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors raised its stake in Pfizer by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 397,952 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $9,909,000 after buying an additional 40,239 shares during the last quarter. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC purchased a new position in Pfizer during the fourth quarter valued at $92,000. Finally, DUTCH ASSET Corp purchased a new position in Pfizer during the fourth quarter valued at $237,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company's stock.

Pfizer Stock Up 1.5%

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $25.96. The firm has a market cap of $155.37 billion, a PE ratio of 20.09 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.87.

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

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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