Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Shares Down 2.7% Following Analyst Downgrade

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)’s share price dropped 2.7% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after UBS Group lowered their price target on the stock from $28.00 to $24.00. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Pfizer traded as low as $20.92 and last traded at $21.24. Approximately 28,424,445 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 29% from the average daily volume of 39,806,359 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.84.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on PFE. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $29.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Pfizer in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Hsbc Global Res raised Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $25.00 price objective (down previously from $32.00) on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.07.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Pfizer news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock bought 19,457 shares of Pfizer stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $25.65 per share, for a total transaction of $499,072.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $710,684.55. This trade represents a 235.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Pfizer

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PFE. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Pfizer during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pfizer during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Clarity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Pfizer in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Gould Capital LLC raised its position in Pfizer by 97.2% in the fourth quarter. Gould Capital LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 493 shares during the period. Finally, Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Pfizer during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. 68.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Pfizer Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $122.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.30, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.67. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $25.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $26.45.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $17.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.26 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 19.47% and a net margin of 12.62%. Pfizer’s revenue was up 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.10 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

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.