Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Upgraded by Argus to Buy Rating

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) was upgraded by research analysts at Argus from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Monday,Finviz reports. The brokerage currently has a $35.00 price target on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. Argus’ price target would indicate a potential upside of 26.78% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on PFE. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Pfizer in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and set a $27.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Scotiabank started coverage on Pfizer in a report on Thursday, November 13th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $30.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $28.05.

Pfizer Stock Performance

NYSE PFE opened at $27.61 on Monday. Pfizer has a fifty-two week low of $20.92 and a fifty-two week high of $27.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $156.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.30 and a beta of 0.47. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.41.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.09. Pfizer had a return on equity of 20.48% and a net margin of 12.42%.The company had revenue of $17.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.93 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.63 earnings per share. Pfizer’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Pfizer will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Pfizer

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fiduciary Alliance LLC boosted its position in Pfizer by 46.4% in the 3rd quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 145,263 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,701,000 after buying an additional 46,043 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the third quarter valued at $3,019,000. Money Concepts Capital Corp boosted its holdings in Pfizer by 29.9% in the third quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 248,251 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $6,325,000 after purchasing an additional 57,188 shares during the period. Vista Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Pfizer by 236.1% in the third quarter. Vista Investment Partners LLC now owns 69,613 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,774,000 after purchasing an additional 48,900 shares during the period. Finally, Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. grew its stake in Pfizer by 76.4% during the 3rd quarter. Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. now owns 109,269 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,784,000 after purchasing an additional 47,319 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

About Pfizer

Pfizer Inc (NYSE: PFE) is a multinational biopharmaceutical company headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1849 by Charles Pfizer and Charles Erhart, the company researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes a broad range of medicines and vaccines for human health. Its activities span discovery research, clinical development, regulatory affairs, manufacturing and global commercial distribution across multiple therapeutic areas.

Pfizer’s portfolio and pipeline cover oncology, immunology, cardiology, endocrinology, rare diseases, hospital acute care and anti-infectives, along with a substantial vaccine business.