Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on PFE. Weiss Ratings raised Pfizer from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, August 31st. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Pfizer from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on Pfizer from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. HSBC lifted their target price on Pfizer from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on Pfizer from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $28.72.

Pfizer Stock Up 0.4%

NYSE PFE opened at $28.39 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.51. Pfizer has a 12 month low of $23.62 and a 12 month high of $29.21. The company has a market capitalization of $161.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.36, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.32.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $15.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 6.80% and a return on equity of 19.63%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.78 earnings per share. Pfizer has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.800-3.000 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Pfizer will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 7th. Investors of record on Friday, November 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 6th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 226.32%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 529,670,433 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $12,754,464,000 after acquiring an additional 31,412,883 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in Pfizer by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 300,445,164 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $7,481,085,000 after purchasing an additional 1,357,756 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Pfizer by 11.1% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 53,879,900 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,512,948,000 after purchasing an additional 5,364,929 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Pfizer during the second quarter valued at $1,049,602,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Pfizer by 0.8% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 36,422,799 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,022,606,000 after purchasing an additional 293,029 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Pfizer

Here are the key news stories impacting Pfizer this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Technical momentum and pipeline potential: Pfizer recently moved above its 50-day simple moving average, while newer medicines, oncology products and potential obesity treatments are viewed as sources of future growth. Pfizer Moves Past 50-day SMA
• Positive Sentiment: Attractive valuation and analyst support: Pfizer trades at roughly 9.6 times the midpoint of its 2026 adjusted EPS guidance of $2.80 to $3.00. Recent coverage also cited a JPMorgan analyst expecting the stock to rise, while an earlier analyst upgrade helped support the shares. Pfizer Valuation Analysis
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed analyst view: JPMorgan’s positive outlook contrasts with a “Hold” rating from UBS, suggesting uncertainty about the pace of Pfizer’s earnings recovery. Pfizer Gets a Hold from UBS
• Neutral Sentiment: Restructuring underway: Pfizer plans to cut approximately 330 jobs at its Catania plant, potentially lowering costs but also highlighting pressure to streamline operations. Pfizer Job Cuts
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue and dividend risks: COVID-product sales are declining, patents expire from 2026 through 2030, and analysts have questioned whether Pfizer’s roughly 6% dividend yield is sustainable amid shrinking sales, debt and cash-flow concerns. Dividend Risk Analysis

About Pfizer

Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE) is a global biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops, manufactures and commercializes prescription medicines and vaccines. Its research and commercial activities focus on areas including oncology, inflammation and immunology, internal medicine, hospital care and vaccines.

The company’s portfolio includes widely used products such as the Prevnar family of pneumococcal vaccines, Ibrance for certain breast cancers, Eliquis for preventing blood clots, Xeljanz for inflammatory conditions, and Vyndaqel for transthyretin amyloidosis.