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

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders bought 1,246,831 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 584% compared to the typical volume of 182,174 call options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pfizer

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC increased its position in Pfizer by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC now owns 417,070 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $12,007,000 after purchasing an additional 18,611 shares in the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its stake in shares of Pfizer by 40.5% in the 3rd quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 4,739,672 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $157,215,000 after acquiring an additional 1,365,295 shares during the period. LifePlan Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Pfizer during the 4th quarter worth $255,000. KLCM Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Pfizer by 75.0% in the 4th quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. now owns 173,793 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,004,000 after purchasing an additional 74,487 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farmers Trust Co. raised its position in Pfizer by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Farmers Trust Co. now owns 225,881 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $6,503,000 after purchasing an additional 4,410 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PFE has been the subject of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $36.00 price objective (up previously from $33.00) on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Argus lowered shares of Pfizer from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Pfizer from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Guggenheim began coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $36.00.

Pfizer Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PFE traded up $0.50 on Wednesday, hitting $28.27. The company had a trading volume of 38,630,770 shares, compared to its average volume of 43,437,793. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a market cap of $160.08 billion, a PE ratio of -466.42, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.63. Pfizer has a 52-week low of $25.20 and a 52-week high of $40.37. The business has a 50 day moving average of $26.92 and a 200 day moving average of $28.12.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $14.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.87 billion. Pfizer had a negative net margin of 0.56% and a positive return on equity of 8.58%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.23 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Pfizer will post 2.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.94%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -2,799.53%.

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.