Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Pfizer (NYSE:PFE)

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Traders bought 201,090 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 28% compared to the typical volume of 157,196 call options.

Pfizer Price Performance

PFE stock opened at $26.36 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $149.38 billion, a PE ratio of 35.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.65. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $26.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.00. Pfizer has a one year low of $24.48 and a one year high of $31.54.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.42. The company had revenue of $17.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.92 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 7.07% and a return on equity of 16.28%. Pfizer’s revenue was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.17) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Pfizer will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is an increase from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.53%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is presently 232.43%.

Insider Transactions at Pfizer

In other news, Director Scott Gottlieb acquired 1,000 shares of Pfizer stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $28.24 per share, for a total transaction of $28,240.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $282,400. This trade represents a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PFE. Gladius Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 102.8% in the third quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 1,043 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 38,015 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Pfizer in the second quarter worth about $31,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Pfizer in the second quarter worth about $34,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new position in shares of Pfizer in the third quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 168.3% in the third quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management now owns 1,229 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 771 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on PFE shares. Guggenheim reduced their price target on shares of Pfizer from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. 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 price target for the company. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.14.

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.