Investors Buy High Volume of Pfizer Call Options (NYSE:PFE)

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) was the target of unusually large options trading on Monday. Traders acquired 191,434 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 56% compared to the average daily volume of 122,796 call options.

Pfizer Trading Up 0.2%

PFE stock opened at $25.67 on Wednesday. Pfizer has a 1-year low of $23.11 and a 1-year high of $28.75. The firm has a market cap of $146.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.59 and a beta of 0.34. The business’s 50 day moving average is $26.56 and its 200-day moving average is $26.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.03. Pfizer had a return on equity of 19.44% and a net margin of 11.83%.The company had revenue of $14.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.92 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Pfizer has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.800-3.000 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Pfizer will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 8th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.7%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is 131.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on PFE shares. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Pfizer from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Monday, June 1st. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $27.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Daiwa Securities Group cut Pfizer from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $27.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Pfizer from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $28.82.

Pfizer News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Pfizer this week:

• Positive Sentiment: The FDA approved an expanded indication for HYMPAVZI, broadening use to more hemophilia A/B patients and children, which could increase future sales. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Pfizer’s obesity pipeline remains in focus after phase 2b data showed about 16% weight loss, reinforcing optimism that the company may build a meaningful next-generation growth franchise. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: BMO Capital kept its Buy rating on Pfizer, adding support for the stock but not changing the core story by itself. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple articles highlighted Pfizer’s obesity strategy and its effort to find new growth after the COVID windfall faded, which is encouraging but still early-stage. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Broader commentary on patent cliffs and rising competition in obesity drugs underscores the pressure Pfizer faces to replace lost revenue and prove its pipeline can deliver. Article Title

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pfizer

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PFE. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Pfizer during the 4th quarter worth $1,830,986,000. Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of Pfizer by 19.2% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 89,113,604 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,218,929,000 after buying an additional 14,342,946 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Pfizer by 38.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 48,514,971 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,208,023,000 after buying an additional 13,581,757 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Pfizer by 47.8% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 25,070,148 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $638,787,000 after buying an additional 8,108,887 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of Pfizer by 577.5% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 8,786,084 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $218,817,000 after buying an additional 7,489,189 shares in the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Pfizer Company Profile

Pfizer Inc (NYSE: PFE) is a multinational biopharmaceutical company headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1849 by Charles Pfizer and Charles Erhart, the company researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes a broad range of medicines and vaccines for human health. Its activities span discovery research, clinical development, regulatory affairs, manufacturing and global commercial distribution across multiple therapeutic areas.

Pfizer’s portfolio and pipeline cover oncology, immunology, cardiology, endocrinology, rare diseases, hospital acute care and anti-infectives, along with a substantial vaccine business.