Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Trading Up 1.7% – Time to Buy?

Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) rose 1.7% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $28.64 and last traded at $28.5610. Approximately 41,944,887 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 9% from the average daily volume of 45,975,992 shares. The stock had previously closed at $28.08.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on PFE shares. Zacks Research upgraded Pfizer from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $25.00 price target for the company. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $25.00 price objective on the stock. Wolfe Research set a $24.00 price target on Pfizer and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $28.19.

Pfizer Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $161.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.86 and a beta of 0.43. The company’s 50 day moving average is $27.03 and its 200-day moving average is $25.79.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pfizer

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFE. Stance Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Pfizer by 26,746.0% in the fourth quarter. Stance Capital LLC now owns 26,846 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $668,000 after purchasing an additional 26,746 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 27.1% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 1,842,275 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $45,873,000 after buying an additional 392,913 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors grew its stake in Pfizer by 11.2% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 397,952 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $9,909,000 after buying an additional 40,239 shares during the last quarter. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC bought a new position in Pfizer in the 4th quarter valued at about $92,000. Finally, DUTCH ASSET Corp acquired a new stake in Pfizer during the fourth quarter worth approximately $237,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

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.