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

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Investors acquired 446,836 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 114% compared to the average daily volume of 208,382 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Scotiabank began coverage on Pfizer in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $30.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $26.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Wolfe Research set a $24.00 price target on Pfizer and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Pfizer in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $27.88.

Pfizer Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE PFE traded up $0.15 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $26.04. 35,215,451 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 47,954,449. Pfizer has a 12 month low of $20.92 and a 12 month high of $27.69. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $25.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $25.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company has a market cap of $148.03 billion, a PE ratio of 15.14 and a beta of 0.47.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.08. Pfizer had a return on equity of 20.17% and a net margin of 15.65%.The company had revenue of $16.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.94 billion. Pfizer has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.000-3.150 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Pfizer will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Investors of record on Friday, January 23rd will be issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 23rd. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.6%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 100.00%.

Institutional Trading of Pfizer

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PFE. Fiduciary Alliance LLC grew its stake in shares of Pfizer by 46.4% during the third quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 145,263 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,701,000 after purchasing an additional 46,043 shares during the last quarter. Vista Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in Pfizer by 236.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vista Investment Partners LLC now owns 69,613 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,774,000 after buying an additional 48,900 shares during the period. Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. increased its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 76.4% in the third quarter. Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. now owns 109,269 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,784,000 after acquiring an additional 47,319 shares in the last quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH lifted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 11.2% during the 3rd quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 1,892,663 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $48,225,000 after purchasing an additional 190,946 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ossiam increased its stake in Pfizer by 71.2% during the 2nd quarter. Ossiam now owns 5,650,573 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $136,970,000 after purchasing an additional 2,349,058 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.