Erste Group Bank Increases Earnings Estimates for Pfizer

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) – Stock analysts at Erste Group Bank boosted their FY2026 EPS estimates for shares of Pfizer in a research note issued on Wednesday, August 5th. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now forecasts that the biopharmaceutical company will post earnings per share of $2.95 for the year, up from their prior estimate of $2.92. The consensus estimate for Pfizer’s current full-year earnings is $2.97 per share.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $27.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Monday, July 6th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Pfizer from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 13th. Wolfe Research reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $26.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. CICC Research began coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $33.00 price target on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Pfizer from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $28.28.

Pfizer Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PFE opened at $26.61 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $25.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $151.67 billion, a PE ratio of 35.01 and a beta of 0.34. Pfizer has a 1 year low of $23.58 and a 1 year high of $28.75.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.09. Pfizer had a return on equity of 19.63% and a net margin of 6.80%.The company had revenue of $15.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.78 EPS. Pfizer’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. Pfizer has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.800-3.000 EPS.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PFE. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Pfizer in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,830,986,000. BlackRock Inc. increased its stake in Pfizer by 6.3% during the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 529,670,433 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $12,754,464,000 after acquiring an additional 31,412,883 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its position in Pfizer by 19.2% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 89,113,604 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,218,929,000 after purchasing an additional 14,342,946 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake 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 valued at $1,208,023,000 after purchasing an additional 13,581,757 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 577.5% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 8,786,084 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $218,817,000 after purchasing an additional 7,489,189 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 24th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 24th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is presently 226.32%.

Key Headlines Impacting Pfizer

Here are the key news stories impacting Pfizer this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Raised 2026 outlook and cost savings: Pfizer increased its 2026 guidance after reporting second-quarter earnings of $0.77 per share versus the $0.68 consensus estimate and revenue of $15.03 billion versus $14.40 billion expected. Non-COVID products grew 5%, while management is targeting approximately $9.7 billion in savings, supporting profitability. Pfizer Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
• Positive Sentiment: Pipeline offers a potential growth replacement: Investor coverage is highlighting Pfizer’s expanding non-COVID pipeline and strategic efforts to reduce its dependence on pandemic products. A successful pipeline could help offset upcoming revenue losses. Pfizer’s Pipeline Could Change Everything
• Neutral Sentiment: Income appeal remains significant: Pfizer’s roughly 6.4% dividend yield is well above the S&P 500 average, making PFE attractive to income-focused investors, although the high payout also reflects concerns about earnings quality and future growth. Pfizer vs AbbVie: What’s the Better Dividend Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Guidance increase may be less durable: Analysts noted that much of the improved 2026 outlook relies on a drug approaching patent expiry. That creates a potential revenue cliff from generic competition, though Pfizer says it is implementing measures to address the risk. Pfizer Raised 2026 Guidance
• Negative Sentiment: Dividend-cut concerns persist: Pfizer’s earnings have reportedly declined sharply this year, raising questions about whether its elevated dividend is sustainable if cash flow and earnings remain under pressure. Pfizer Earnings and Dividend Cut Concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Legal liability adds a financial overhang: Pfizer agreed to a $44 million settlement related to Chantix, creating a modest near-term cost and additional headline risk. Pfizer Chantix Settlement

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.