Rakuten Investment Management Inc. Buys New Position in Pfizer Inc. $PFE

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 85,586 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,181,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PFE. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,075 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $486,000 after buying an additional 1,245 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in Pfizer by 13.9% during the third quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 20,359 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $519,000 after acquiring an additional 2,480 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH raised its holdings in Pfizer by 0.7% during the third quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 4,351,803 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $110,884,000 after acquiring an additional 29,227 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its position in Pfizer by 11.5% during the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 86,517 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,120,000 after purchasing an additional 8,947 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vest Financial LLC grew its stake in Pfizer by 23.6% in the third quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 81,471 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,076,000 after purchasing an additional 15,567 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Pfizer

Here are the key news stories impacting Pfizer this week:

• Positive Sentiment: NICE recommended Pfizer’s PARP inhibitor Talzenna for adults with prostate cancer — a UK endorsement that supports incremental oncology revenue and validates Pfizer’s targeted‑therapy strategy. NICE backs Pfizer’s Talzenna for adults with prostate cancer
• Positive Sentiment: Pfizer launched a large Phase 3 lung‑cancer trial positioning its regimen against Merck’s Keytruda — a successful outcome would target a high‑value oncology market and materially boost long‑term growth expectations. Pfizer Takes Aim at Keytruda in New Phase 3 Lung Cancer Study: What Investors Should Know
• Positive Sentiment: Pfizer moved a COPD candidate into a Phase 2/3 trial, strengthening its post‑COVID respiratory pipeline and the company’s addressable market in chronic lung disease. Pfizer Advances New COPD Candidate Into Phase 2/3, Adding Depth to Its Post-COVID Pipeline
• Positive Sentiment: Novavax and Pfizer reached a licensing agreement on the Matrix‑M adjuvant — this could reshape Pfizer’s vaccine platform strategy by expanding adjuvant options and serviceable vaccine markets. Novavax inks license agreement with Pfizer
• Positive Sentiment: Early‑stage pipeline progress: PF‑07248144 advanced with a drug–interaction study and PF‑08065010 entered Phase 1 — steady, low‑visibility pipeline work that reduces binary risk over time. Pfizer Advances PF-07248144 With New Drug–Interaction Study, Signaling Quiet Pipeline Progress
• Neutral Sentiment: Large options flow: traders bought ~446,836 call options (≈+114% vs. typical volume) — indicates short‑term bullish/speculative positioning but not a direct fundamental signal. (Market data)
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Albert Bourla publicly criticized RFK Jr.’s vaccine views and warned the U.S. risks falling behind China in health research — a strong management stance on science and policy that can influence regulatory/public perception but is not an immediate earnings driver. Pfizer CEO Calls RFK’s Vaccine Views Anti-Science, Warns US Falling Behind China In Health Research
• Negative Sentiment: Investor concerns persist on pricing and post‑COVID revenue sustainability — recent pieces question whether Pfizer’s current valuation reflects secular headwinds and pricing pressure, which helps explain selling pressure despite pipeline news. Is Pfizer (PFE) Pricing Make Sense After Post Covid Slowdown Concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Opinion pieces highlight a debate whether Pfizer is an attractive dividend/value play or a value trap — ongoing skepticism around growth prospects can keep the stock depressed. Is Pfizer an Absurdly Cheap Dividend Stock, or Just a Value Trap?

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup began coverage on Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $26.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Pfizer in a report on Thursday. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $32.00 to $28.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Wolfe Research set a $24.00 target price on shares of Pfizer and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.88.

Pfizer Price Performance

NYSE:PFE opened at $25.65 on Friday. Pfizer Inc. has a one year low of $20.92 and a one year high of $27.69. The company has a market cap of $145.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.91 and a beta of 0.47. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $25.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.08. Pfizer had a net margin of 15.65% and a return on equity of 20.17%. The company had revenue of $16.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.94 billion. Pfizer has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.000-3.150 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 23rd will be given a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 23rd. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.7%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is presently 100.00%.

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.