Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 94,540,000 shares, a growth of 52.8% from the October 31st total of 61,870,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 37,730,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.5 days.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Scott Gottlieb purchased 1,000 shares of Pfizer stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were bought at an average price of $28.24 per share, for a total transaction of $28,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $282,400. This represents a 11.11 % 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 Trading of Pfizer

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PFE. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Pfizer by 11.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 130,143,942 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,766,366,000 after purchasing an additional 12,864,343 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in Pfizer by 279.3% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 5,378,173 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $150,481,000 after buying an additional 8,378,173 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in Pfizer by 22.4% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 38,068,879 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,101,713,000 after acquiring an additional 6,977,587 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pfizer in the third quarter valued at about $146,481,000. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its position in shares of Pfizer by 164.2% during the third quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 7,316,405 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $211,737,000 after purchasing an additional 4,546,809 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com lowered Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Friday, October 25th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 price target for the company. Daiwa America raised shares of Pfizer from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets raised Pfizer from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $28.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Pfizer has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.92.

Pfizer Stock Performance

NYSE:PFE traded up $0.38 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $26.21. The company had a trading volume of 22,023,019 shares, compared to its average volume of 38,433,195. The firm has a market cap of $148.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.42, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $27.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.49. Pfizer has a 52 week low of $24.48 and a 52 week high of $31.54.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.42. The company had revenue of $17.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.92 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 16.28% and a net margin of 7.07%. Pfizer’s revenue was up 31.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.17) earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Pfizer will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.41%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is currently 227.03%.

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.