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

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors bought 185,983 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 31% compared to the average volume of 141,727 call options.

Pfizer Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PFE opened at $25.67 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Pfizer has a fifty-two week low of $20.92 and a fifty-two week high of $30.43. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.15. The company has a market cap of $145.95 billion, a PE ratio of 13.65, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.55.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.20. Pfizer had a net margin of 16.84% and a return on equity of 21.42%. The business had revenue of $14.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Pfizer has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.900-3.100 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Pfizer will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in Pfizer by 11.1% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 132,478 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,358,000 after purchasing an additional 13,228 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK grew its position in Pfizer by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 1,413,472 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $35,817,000 after purchasing an additional 17,032 shares during the last quarter. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp bought a new position in Pfizer in the 1st quarter worth about $8,283,000. Westbourne Investments Inc. bought a new position in Pfizer in the 1st quarter worth about $2,411,000. Finally, Bourne Lent Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Pfizer by 90.8% in the 2nd quarter. Bourne Lent Asset Management Inc. now owns 38,255 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $927,000 after purchasing an additional 18,200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on PFE. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $28.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Pfizer from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, September 28th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Pfizer from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Pfizer presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $28.41.

Pfizer Company Profile

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.