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

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) saw some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders acquired 1,246,831 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 584% compared to the typical daily volume of 182,174 call options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Pfizer by 3.7% during the third quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 9,197 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $305,000 after acquiring an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Pfizer by 0.5% during the third quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 65,053 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,158,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Carr Financial Group Corp increased its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 3.3% in the third quarter. Carr Financial Group Corp now owns 11,012 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $344,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares during the last quarter. Advisor OS LLC lifted its position in shares of Pfizer by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 35,202 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,013,000 after buying an additional 365 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lafayette Investments Inc. boosted its stake in Pfizer by 2.2% during the third quarter. Lafayette Investments Inc. now owns 17,470 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $579,000 after buying an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Stock Performance

Shares of PFE traded up $0.50 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $28.27. 38,630,770 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 43,437,793. The stock has a market cap of $160.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -466.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.91. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $26.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $28.12. Pfizer has a 1 year low of $25.20 and a 1 year high of $40.37.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $14.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.87 billion. Pfizer had a negative net margin of 0.56% and a positive return on equity of 8.58%. The firm’s revenue was down 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.23 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Pfizer will post 2.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. Pfizer’s payout ratio is -2,799.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim started coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $36.00 target price (up from $33.00) on shares of Pfizer in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Argus downgraded Pfizer from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Pfizer from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $36.00.

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.