Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Pfizer (NYSE:PFE)

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading on Friday. Investors acquired 201,090 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 28% compared to the typical daily volume of 157,196 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pfizer

In related news, Director Scott Gottlieb bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $28.24 per share, for a total transaction of $28,240.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $282,400. This trade represents a 11.11 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pfizer

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Gladius Capital Management LP raised its stake in Pfizer by 102.8% in the third quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 1,043 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 38,015 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Pfizer in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new stake in Pfizer during the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management boosted its holdings in Pfizer by 168.3% in the third quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management now owns 1,229 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 771 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup assumed coverage on Pfizer in a research note on Friday, October 25th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $30.00 price objective on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Guggenheim cut their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $25.00 price target for the company. Finally, Bank of America restated a "neutral" rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $32.14.

Pfizer Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of PFE stock traded up $0.59 on Friday, hitting $26.36. The stock had a trading volume of 116,162,070 shares, compared to its average volume of 39,035,680. The company's 50 day moving average price is $26.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.18. Pfizer has a 1 year low of $24.48 and a 1 year high of $31.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $149.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.62, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.65.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.42. Pfizer had a net margin of 7.07% and a return on equity of 16.28%. The company had revenue of $17.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.92 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.17) earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 31.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Pfizer will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be given a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This is a boost from Pfizer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Pfizer's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 232.43%.

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.