Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Put Options on Pfizer (NYSE:PFE)

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders bought 147,173 put options on the company. This is an increase of 24% compared to the typical volume of 118,483 put options.

Institutional Trading of Pfizer

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PFE. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in Pfizer by 2,320.6% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 217,981,455 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,248,993,000 after acquiring an additional 208,976,273 shares during the last quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Pfizer by 16.2% during the second quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 37,694 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $908,000 after acquiring an additional 5,249 shares during the last quarter. Henrickson Nauta Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Pfizer during the second quarter worth $328,000. Kintra Wealth LLC raised its position in Pfizer by 14.8% in the second quarter. Kintra Wealth LLC now owns 56,271 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,355,000 after purchasing an additional 7,248 shares during the period. Finally, Widmann Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 6.4% in the 2nd quarter. Widmann Financial Services Inc. now owns 58,355 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,405,000 after purchasing an additional 3,485 shares during the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pfizer Stock Performance

Shares of Pfizer stock traded up $0.07 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $28.52. 20,313,657 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 41,667,371. Pfizer has a 52-week low of $23.58 and a 52-week high of $29.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $162.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.57 and a beta of 0.34. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $25.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.30.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.09. Pfizer had a net margin of 6.80% and a return on equity of 19.63%. The company had revenue of $15.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.78 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. Pfizer has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.800-3.000 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Pfizer will post 2.98 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 24th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 24th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.0%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is currently 226.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PFE has been the topic of several research reports. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Pfizer from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 10th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Pfizer from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 13th. HSBC lowered Pfizer from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $32.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Pfizer from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $28.28.

Trending Headlines about Pfizer

Here are the key news stories impacting Pfizer this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Depo-Provera litigation settlement removes a major overhang. Pfizer reached a confidential settlement covering more than 6,000 federal lawsuits alleging a link between its contraceptive Depo-Provera and intracranial meningioma. Although the financial terms were not disclosed and Pfizer admitted no liability, resolving the cases may reduce legal uncertainty and future litigation risk. Pfizer Reaches Confidential Settlement in Depo-Provera Litigation
• Positive Sentiment: Oncology remains a key growth opportunity. Pfizer’s cancer-drug portfolio is led by Padcev, while additional pipeline programs, including PF-08634404, and potential label expansions could support longer-term revenue growth as the company works to offset declines in older products. From Padcev to PF-08634404: Pfizer’s Oncology Growth Push
• Positive Sentiment: Higher earnings expectations and dividend appeal support the stock. Erste Group Bank increased its fiscal 2026 EPS estimate, while Pfizer’s relatively high dividend yield may attract income-focused investors seeking defensive healthcare exposure. Pfizer FY2026 EPS Estimate Increased by Erste Group Bank Three Stocks for Investors Who Still Believe Cash Is King
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusually high put-option activity signals increased hedging or bearish speculation. Traders bought 147,173 put options, about 24% above typical volume. This indicates heightened investor caution, but options activity alone does not confirm a shift in the stock’s fundamental outlook.
• Negative Sentiment: Pfizer continues to lag the broader market. Despite moderately optimistic analyst views and a recent recovery, the stock has underperformed the S&P 500 over the past year, highlighting ongoing concerns about growth and the company’s turnaround. Is Pfizer Stock Underperforming the S&P 500?

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.