HighVista Strategies LLC Purchases New Position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

HighVista Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 60,300 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,687,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. bought a new stake in Pfizer in the 4th quarter valued at $16,166,000. LGT Group Foundation boosted its position in shares of Pfizer by 2.5% during the second quarter. LGT Group Foundation now owns 742,875 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $20,786,000 after buying an additional 18,274 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 1,729.9% during the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 47,028 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,327,000 after buying an additional 44,458 shares in the last quarter. Kempner Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Pfizer in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,439,000. Finally, Leo Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Pfizer in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,171,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of PFE opened at $29.42 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.24. The company has a market cap of $166.71 billion, a P/E ratio of -490.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.68. Pfizer Inc. has a one year low of $25.20 and a one year high of $34.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.60.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $13.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.96 billion. Pfizer had a positive return on equity of 8.42% and a negative net margin of 4.66%. Pfizer’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.67 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th were issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.71%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -2,799.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on PFE. Daiwa America raised shares of Pfizer from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded Pfizer from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $28.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Barclays raised their price objective on Pfizer from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Pfizer from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Pfizer currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.54.

Pfizer Company Profile

Pfizer Inc discovers, develops, manufactures, markets, distributes, and sells biopharmaceutical products in the United States, Europe, and internationally. The company offers medicines and vaccines in various therapeutic areas, including cardiovascular metabolic, migraine, and women's health under the Eliquis, Nurtec ODT/Vydura, Zavzpret, and the Premarin family brands; infectious diseases with unmet medical needs under the Prevnar family, Abrysvo, Nimenrix, FSME/IMMUN-TicoVac, and Trumenba brands; and COVID-19 prevention and treatment, and potential future mRNA and antiviral products under the Comirnaty and Paxlovid brands.