Erste Group Bank Forecasts Increased Earnings for Pfizer

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) – Stock analysts at Erste Group Bank boosted their FY2026 earnings per share estimates for Pfizer in a note issued to investors on Thursday, August 27th. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now expects that the biopharmaceutical company will earn $2.96 per share for the year, up from their previous estimate of $2.95. The consensus estimate for Pfizer’s current full-year earnings is $2.98 per share. Erste Group Bank also issued estimates for Pfizer’s FY2027 earnings at $2.90 EPS.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada raised shares of Pfizer from an “underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $25.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen raised Pfizer from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $27.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Pfizer from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $28.28.

Pfizer Stock Performance

NYSE:PFE opened at $28.57 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $25.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $26.31. Pfizer has a twelve month low of $23.58 and a twelve month high of $29.09. The company has a market capitalization of $162.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.59 and a beta of 0.34.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.09. Pfizer had a return on equity of 19.63% and a net margin of 6.80%.The business had revenue of $15.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.78 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. Pfizer has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.800-3.000 EPS.

Institutional Trading of Pfizer

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. grew its holdings in Pfizer by 6.3% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 529,670,433 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $12,754,464,000 after purchasing an additional 31,412,883 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in Pfizer by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 300,445,164 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $7,481,085,000 after purchasing an additional 1,357,756 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in Pfizer by 2,320.6% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 217,981,455 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,248,993,000 after purchasing an additional 208,976,273 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 130,192,081 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,235,642,000 after purchasing an additional 1,184,728 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of Pfizer by 19.2% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 89,113,604 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,218,929,000 after buying an additional 14,342,946 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, July 24th were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 24th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.0%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is 226.32%.

Pfizer News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Pfizer this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong quarterly results supported the move higher. Pfizer’s second-quarter earnings and revenue exceeded analyst expectations, while full-year 2026 EPS guidance remains $2.80–$3.00. The results suggest resilience despite comparisons with the prior year’s COVID-related performance. Pfizer Stock Surges to 52-Week Peak Following Strong Q2 Results and Major Legal Settlement
• Positive Sentiment: Depo-Provera litigation uncertainty has been reduced. Pfizer reached a confidential settlement covering more than 6,000 federal lawsuits alleging a connection between Depo-Provera and intracranial meningioma. Although the financial terms were not disclosed and Pfizer admitted no liability, the agreement removes a significant legal overhang. Pfizer Reaches Confidential Settlement in Depo-Provera Litigation
• Positive Sentiment: Investors are focusing on oncology growth. Padcev, pipeline programs such as PF-08634404 and potential label expansions are central to Pfizer’s effort to offset declining COVID product sales and build longer-term growth. Pfizer’s Oncology Growth Push
• Positive Sentiment: Higher EPS estimates and dividend appeal may be supporting demand. Erste Group Bank increased its FY2026 EPS estimate, while Pfizer’s relatively high dividend yield may attract income-oriented investors seeking defensive healthcare exposure. Pfizer FY2026 EPS Estimate Increased by Erste Group Bank
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts remain moderately optimistic, but Pfizer has underperformed the S&P 500 over the past year, underscoring continuing concerns about growth and execution. Is Pfizer Stock Underperforming the S&P 500?
• Negative Sentiment: Unusual options activity included purchases of 147,173 put options, about 24% above average. This may reflect bearish positioning or hedging and signals that some traders remain cautious despite the recent rally.

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.