Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) Short Interest Up 21.1% in February

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 89,120,000 shares, an increase of 21.1% from the January 31st total of 73,570,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 40,130,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.2 days.

Insider Activity at Pfizer

In related news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock purchased 19,457 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $25.65 per share, for a total transaction of $499,072.05. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 27,707 shares in the company, valued at $710,684.55. This trade represents a 235.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pfizer

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pfizer in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Pfizer during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Clarity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Pfizer during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Gould Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Pfizer by 97.2% in the fourth quarter. Gould Capital LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 493 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Pfizer in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Stock Performance

Shares of Pfizer stock opened at $26.43 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $26.30 and a 200-day moving average of $27.26. The company has a market cap of $149.77 billion, a PE ratio of 18.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.61. Pfizer has a 1-year low of $24.48 and a 1-year high of $31.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.15. Pfizer had a return on equity of 19.47% and a net margin of 12.62%. The business had revenue of $17.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.10 EPS. Pfizer’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Pfizer will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is an increase from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.51%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 121.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on PFE. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Pfizer from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. StockNews.com cut Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Pfizer from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $33.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Monday, February 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Pfizer presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.92.

About Pfizer

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.