Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Shares Gap Up - Here's Why

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $25.25, but opened at $25.90. Pfizer shares last traded at $26.01, with a volume of 15,650,850 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wolfe Research started coverage on Pfizer in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $25.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $29.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Pfizer from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on Pfizer in a report on Friday, October 25th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $30.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $32.15.

Pfizer Trading Up 4.6 %

The business's 50-day simple moving average is $27.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.25. The company has a market cap of $149.72 billion, a PE ratio of 35.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.65. 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 - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $17.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.92 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 16.28% and a net margin of 7.07%. The firm's revenue was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.17) EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.51%. This is a boost from Pfizer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. Pfizer's payout ratio is presently 227.03%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Pfizer news, Director Scott Gottlieb purchased 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $28.24 per share, for a total transaction of $28,240.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $282,400. This represents a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp lifted its position in Pfizer by 1.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 290,460,600 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $8,405,930,000 after purchasing an additional 3,405,539 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 130,143,942 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $3,766,366,000 after acquiring an additional 12,864,343 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Pfizer by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 117,666,245 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $3,392,342,000 after acquiring an additional 1,855,419 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Pfizer by 3.2% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 71,794,056 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,008,798,000 after acquiring an additional 2,241,609 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in Pfizer by 22.4% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 38,068,879 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,101,713,000 after purchasing an additional 6,977,587 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.36% of the company's stock.

Pfizer Company Profile

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.