Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Trading Up 1.2% After Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) were up 1.2% during trading on Wednesday after Guggenheim raised their price target on the stock from $35.00 to $36.00. Guggenheim currently has a buy rating on the stock. Pfizer traded as high as $27.53 and last traded at $27.2860. Approximately 33,924,014 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 27% from the average daily volume of 46,587,574 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.96.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on PFE. Morgan Stanley set a $27.00 price target on Pfizer and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th. Daiwa Securities Group cut Pfizer from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $27.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Barclays started coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $25.00 price target for the company. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $27.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $28.19.

Key Stories Impacting Pfizer

Here are the key news stories impacting Pfizer this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Phase‑3 Lyme vaccine topline showed ~73% efficacy, which investors view as meaningful for Pfizer’s vaccine pipeline and future revenue diversification; the companies plan to pursue regulatory submissions. Pfizer Reports 73% Lyme Vaccine Efficacy as Trial Results Complicate Outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst optimism is rising: coverage pieces and raises (including Guggenheim’s $36 price target / buy) signal potential upside and helped lift sentiment around PFE. Pfizer Could Hit $36 by Year-End as Analysts See 2-to-1 Payoff on Key Prostate Cancer Trial
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple bullish writeups highlight Pfizer’s high dividend yield and a rebuilding pipeline (oncology and vaccines) — narrative of “undervalued turnaround” is attracting income and value investors. This 6.5%‑Yielding Dividend Payer is Sitting on a Breakthrough Investors Haven’t Priced In
• Neutral Sentiment: Pfizer scheduled a public webcast for its May 5 Q1 results and analyst call — investors will get updated financials and management commentary then (watch for guidance and pipeline milestones). Pfizer Invites Public to View and Listen to Webcast of May 5 Conference Call with Analysts
• Neutral Sentiment: CFO interviews emphasize recent oncology milestones — useful PR that could translate to incremental confidence but needs trial-readout details to move fundamentals. Pfizer CFO Dave Denton Highlights Firm’s Recent Oncology Milestones
• Negative Sentiment: Valneva’s stock plunged after saying the Lyme trial missed a key statistical target despite >70% efficacy; that outcome injects regulatory and perception risk for the joint program and could delay approvals or affect labeling. VALN Stock Nosedives on Mixed Results From Lyme Disease Vaccine Study
• Negative Sentiment: The Lyme study’s failure to meet its primary endpoint (driven by lower-than-expected case counts) increases execution uncertainty — investors must weigh clinical relevance vs. statistical/regulatory hurdles. Pfizer-Valneva Lyme vaccine shows more than 70% efficacy but misses key goal

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pfizer

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Pfizer in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,270,157,000. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in Pfizer by 19.2% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 89,113,604 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,218,929,000 after purchasing 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% during 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 purchasing an additional 13,581,757 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake 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 worth $638,787,000 after buying an additional 8,108,887 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake 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 worth $218,817,000 after buying an additional 7,489,189 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Stock Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $26.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $25.64. The firm has a market cap of $155.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.06 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.87.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.09. Pfizer had a net margin of 12.42% and a return on equity of 20.48%. The firm had revenue of $17.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.63 earnings per share. Pfizer’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

About Pfizer

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.