Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Stock Price Up 2% - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Pfizer shares rose 2% to about $28.53 in mid-day trading, with volume below the average session level. The stock remains near analysts’ consensus price target of $28.28.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with a consensus “Hold” rating based on one Strong Buy, four Buys, fourteen Holds, and two Sell ratings; recent price targets range from $26 to $31.
• Pfizer exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, while offering a quarterly dividend of $0.43, equivalent to a 6.0% annualized yield. However, its payout ratio is elevated at 226.32%.

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded up 2% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $28.58 and last traded at $28.5280. Approximately 30,909,403 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 26% from the average session volume of 41,964,996 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.97.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on PFE shares. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Pfizer from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Wolfe Research restated an "underperform" rating and set a $26.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $27.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Guggenheim reduced their target price on shares of Pfizer from $35.00 to $31.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, HSBC cut shares of Pfizer from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $32.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Monday, July 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $28.28.

Pfizer Stock Up 2.0%

The stock's 50-day moving average price is $25.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market cap of $162.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.54 and a beta of 0.34.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.09. Pfizer had a net margin of 6.80% and a return on equity of 19.63%. The business had revenue of $15.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.78 earnings per share. Pfizer's quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. Pfizer has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.800-3.000 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 24th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 24th. Pfizer's payout ratio is presently 226.32%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PFE. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 2,320.6% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 217,981,455 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $5,248,993,000 after purchasing an additional 208,976,273 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Pfizer during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,830,986,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Pfizer in the second quarter worth approximately $1,049,602,000. BlackRock Inc. grew its stake in Pfizer by 6.3% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 529,670,433 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $12,754,464,000 after acquiring an additional 31,412,883 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its position in shares of Pfizer by 19.2% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 89,113,604 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,218,929,000 after purchasing an additional 14,342,946 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.36% of the company's stock.

About Pfizer

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.

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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