Pfizer’s (PFE) “Underperform” Rating Reiterated at Royal Bank Of Canada

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE)‘s stock had its “underperform” rating reissued by Royal Bank Of Canada in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $25.00 price objective on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. Royal Bank Of Canada’s price target would suggest a potential downside of 9.73% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Pfizer in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Daiwa Securities Group downgraded Pfizer from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $27.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Barclays started coverage on Pfizer in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $25.00 price objective on the stock. HSBC increased their target price on Pfizer from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Pfizer from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $28.45.

Pfizer Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE PFE traded up $0.14 on Monday, reaching $27.70. 1,747,294 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 43,188,191. The stock has a market capitalization of $157.48 billion, a PE ratio of 20.31 and a beta of 0.43. Pfizer has a fifty-two week low of $21.87 and a fifty-two week high of $28.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a 50 day moving average of $27.27 and a 200 day moving average of $26.05.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $17.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.93 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 12.42% and a return on equity of 20.48%. Pfizer’s revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.63 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Pfizer will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,830,986,000. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings 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. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Pfizer by 38.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 48,514,971 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,208,023,000 after buying an additional 13,581,757 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted 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 worth $638,787,000 after buying an additional 8,108,887 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 577.5% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 8,786,084 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $218,817,000 after buying an additional 7,489,189 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.