Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Receives Overweight Rating from Cantor Fitzgerald

Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated their overweight rating on shares of Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) in a report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. Cantor Fitzgerald currently has a $45.00 price objective on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on PFE. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an outperform rating and set a $36.00 price objective (up from $33.00) on shares of Pfizer in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Argus downgraded shares of Pfizer from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $35.86.

Pfizer Stock Performance

NYSE PFE opened at $27.42 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.69. Pfizer has a 12-month low of $25.20 and a 12-month high of $37.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a market cap of $155.38 billion, a P/E ratio of -456.92, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.70.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $14.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.87 billion. Pfizer had a negative net margin of 0.56% and a positive return on equity of 8.64%. Pfizer’s revenue was down 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.23 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Pfizer will post 2.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.13%. Pfizer’s payout ratio is -2,799.53%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pfizer

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PFE. Norges Bank bought a new position in Pfizer in the 4th quarter worth about $2,129,927,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Pfizer by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 239,209,768 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $6,886,849,000 after purchasing an additional 11,099,024 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Pfizer by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 104,246,432 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,985,783,000 after purchasing an additional 8,473,686 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Pfizer by 13.8% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 68,506,441 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,972,300,000 after acquiring an additional 8,298,920 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB bought a new position in Pfizer during the 1st quarter valued at about $172,902,000. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

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.