Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Stock Price Down 3.3% Following Analyst Downgrade

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)’s share price traded down 3.3% during trading on Tuesday after Bank of America lowered their price target on the stock from $29.00 to $28.00. Bank of America currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Pfizer traded as low as $24.92 and last traded at $25.5630. 110,937,503 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 116% from the average session volume of 51,420,578 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.43.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 24th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Pfizer in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Pfizer from $32.00 to $28.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $26.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $28.22.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pfizer

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Pfizer in the second quarter valued at $2,270,157,000. Amundi raised its position in Pfizer by 43.4% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 52,090,403 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,265,277,000 after acquiring an additional 15,758,846 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Pfizer by 1.9% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 533,363,457 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $12,928,730,000 after acquiring an additional 10,198,330 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Pfizer by 47.8% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 25,070,148 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $638,787,000 after acquiring an additional 8,108,887 shares during the period. Finally, Neuberger Berman Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Pfizer by 203.8% during the 3rd quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 9,012,811 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $229,346,000 after purchasing an additional 6,045,763 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.28. The company has a market capitalization of $145.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.86 and a beta of 0.46. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $25.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.80.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $16.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.94 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 20.17% and a net margin of 15.65%.Pfizer has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.000-3.150 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 23rd will be issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 23rd. Pfizer’s payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

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.