Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) Short Interest Up 21.1% in February

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 89,120,000 shares, an increase of 21.1% from the January 31st total of 73,570,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 40,130,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.2 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on PFE. StockNews.com cut shares of Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Pfizer from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $29.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Pfizer has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.92.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pfizer

In other Pfizer news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock acquired 19,457 shares of Pfizer stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $25.65 per share, with a total value of $499,072.05. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 27,707 shares in the company, valued at $710,684.55. The trade was a 235.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PFE. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in Pfizer in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pfizer during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Clarity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Pfizer during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Gould Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Pfizer by 97.2% during the 4th quarter. Gould Capital LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 493 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pfizer during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. 68.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Pfizer Stock Performance

Shares of PFE stock traded up $0.27 on Thursday, reaching $26.21. The stock had a trading volume of 46,907,636 shares, compared to its average volume of 39,452,598. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $26.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $148.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. Pfizer has a 12 month low of $24.48 and a 12 month high of $31.54.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $17.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.26 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 12.62% and a return on equity of 19.47%. Pfizer’s quarterly revenue was up 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.10 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Pfizer will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. This is a boost from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is currently 121.99%.

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.