Pfizer Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:PFE)

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) saw some unusual options trading on Friday. Stock traders bought 202,219 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 24% compared to the typical volume of 163,045 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on PFE shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Pfizer in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup assumed coverage on Pfizer in a report on Friday, October 25th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 target price for the company. Daiwa America raised Pfizer from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Pfizer from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.92.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Scott Gottlieb acquired 1,000 shares of Pfizer stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was bought at an average price of $28.24 per share, with a total value of $28,240.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $282,400. This represents a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Swiss National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 16,819,712 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $486,762,000 after buying an additional 100,900 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Pfizer by 80.9% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 508,256 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $14,709,000 after acquiring an additional 227,349 shares during the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC raised its position in Pfizer by 394.2% during the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 52,238 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,512,000 after purchasing an additional 41,668 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 130,143,942 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,766,366,000 after purchasing an additional 12,864,343 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of Pfizer by 26.0% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,105,433 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $89,872,000 after purchasing an additional 639,985 shares during the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pfizer Stock Up 2.0 %

NYSE PFE opened at $25.63 on Friday. Pfizer has a 12 month low of $24.48 and a 12 month high of $31.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market cap of $145.24 billion, a PE ratio of 34.64, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.67. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $28.21 and its 200 day moving average is $28.57.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.42. The firm had revenue of $17.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.92 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 7.07% and a return on equity of 16.28%. Pfizer’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.17) earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Pfizer will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.55%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. Pfizer’s payout ratio is presently 227.03%.

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.