Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Pfizer from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Daiwa America raised Pfizer from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a report on Monday, September 16th. Daiwa Capital Markets raised shares of Pfizer from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $28.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.54.

Pfizer Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PFE traded down $0.27 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $28.67. 30,700,641 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 37,557,527. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Pfizer has a fifty-two week low of $25.20 and a fifty-two week high of $34.11. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.31. The firm has a market cap of $162.46 billion, a PE ratio of -477.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.68.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.14. Pfizer had a positive return on equity of 8.42% and a negative net margin of 4.66%. The business had revenue of $13.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.67 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Pfizer will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PFE. Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Pfizer in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,183,000. Greater Midwest Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 7.8% in the second quarter. Greater Midwest Financial Group LLC now owns 47,052 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,359,000 after purchasing an additional 3,403 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its holdings in Pfizer by 60.3% during the 2nd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 583,600 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $16,329,000 after buying an additional 219,600 shares in the last quarter. Clifford Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Pfizer by 21.3% in the 2nd quarter. Clifford Capital Partners LLC now owns 536,745 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $15,018,000 after buying an additional 94,152 shares during the period. Finally, Verity & Verity LLC increased its position in shares of Pfizer by 11.8% during the second quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 531,036 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $14,858,000 after acquiring an additional 56,071 shares during the period. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Pfizer

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.