Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the twenty analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, twelve have issued a hold recommendation, five have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $28.8235.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on PFE shares. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Argus upgraded shares of Pfizer from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Wolfe Research restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $26.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $27.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th.

Key Pfizer News

Here are the key news stories impacting Pfizer this week:

• Negative Sentiment: Pfizer announced that Chief Financial Officer Dave Denton will step down on August 15 for an external opportunity, prompting concerns about leadership continuity and execution at a time when investors are closely watching the company’s 2026 outlook. Reuters article
• Negative Sentiment: The market appears to be treating the CFO transition as a near-term uncertainty, with several reports noting that Pfizer’s shares fell as investors reassessed growth catalysts and financial stability. TipRanks article
• Neutral Sentiment: Pfizer named Cecile Guegan as interim CFO and said it is conducting a comprehensive search for a permanent replacement, which helps reduce uncertainty but does not fully remove investor concerns. Business Wire article
• Neutral Sentiment: The company reaffirmed its full-year 2026 guidance, which should limit downside if management can maintain operational momentum despite the executive transition. TipRanks article
• Positive Sentiment: Recent business updates, including progress on the obesity pipeline and a China partnership expansion, provide longer-term growth optionality, though they were not enough to offset today’s leadership-driven selloff. Yahoo Finance article

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pfizer

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PFE. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the 4th quarter worth about $1,830,986,000. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 19.2% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 89,113,604 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,218,929,000 after purchasing an additional 14,342,946 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 38.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 48,514,971 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,208,023,000 after purchasing an additional 13,581,757 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 47.8% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 25,070,148 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $638,787,000 after purchasing an additional 8,108,887 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 577.5% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 8,786,084 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $218,817,000 after purchasing an additional 7,489,189 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Stock Down 2.6%

Shares of PFE opened at $25.26 on Friday. Pfizer has a 52 week low of $23.11 and a 52 week high of $28.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $143.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.28 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.25.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.03. Pfizer had a return on equity of 19.44% and a net margin of 11.83%.The business had revenue of $14.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.84 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.92 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Pfizer has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.800-3.000 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Pfizer will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.8%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is presently 131.30%.

Pfizer Company Profile

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.