Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) Stock Has Average Target Price of $30.39

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-one ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, thirteen have assigned a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $30.39.

PFE has been the topic of several research reports. DZ Bank lowered shares of Pfizer from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on shares of Pfizer from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Argus set a $40.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a report on Wednesday, November 4th. FBN Securities set a $34.00 price objective on Pfizer in a research note on Friday, November 6th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Pfizer from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 4th.

Key Stories Impacting Pfizer

Investors following PFE have been watching these stories:

• Positive Sentiment: Blackstone Life Sciences will fund up to $1.5 billion of development costs through 2028 for berobenatide, Pfizer’s potential first-in-class monthly GLP-1 candidate for weight management and obesity-related conditions. The outside funding could help Pfizer advance the program while preserving resources for other pipeline priorities. Reuters article
• Neutral Sentiment: Berobenatide is still under investigation, so the funding is not evidence of clinical success or future approval. Its commercial potential will depend on trial results and eventual regulatory and market outcomes. Pfizer and Blackstone announcement
• Negative Sentiment: Arbutus Biopharma and Genevant expanded patent litigation against Pfizer and BioNTech over lipid-nanoparticle technology used in COVID-19 vaccines, seeking damages and injunctions. The claims remain unresolved but represent a potential legal overhang. Arbutus litigation update

Pfizer Stock Performance

Shares of PFE stock opened at $29.42 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $28.80 and a 200-day moving average of $26.96. Pfizer has a one year low of $23.62 and a one year high of $31.44. The company has a market cap of $167.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.31.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.13. Pfizer had a net margin of 6.34% and a return on equity of 19.88%. The business had revenue of $16.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.87 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Pfizer will post 3.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 6th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.8%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is presently 245.71%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pfizer

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC raised its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 144.6% in the 3rd quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 861 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 509 shares in the last quarter. Keb Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Field & Main Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Bullseye Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Pfizer during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Timbuktu Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Pfizer during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Pfizer

Pfizer Inc. is a global biopharmaceutical company that researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes prescription medicines and vaccines. Its work spans areas including oncology, vaccines, internal medicine, inflammation and immunology, rare diseases, and infectious diseases. The company’s products include the Prevnar family of vaccines and medicines such as Eliquis, which it commercializes with Bristol Myers Squibb, and Paxlovid. Pfizer also developed the Comirnaty COVID-19 vaccine with BioNTech.