Global stock markets soared in response to the news that American pharmaceuticals company Pfizer (PFE) has developed a vaccine, tested on 43,500 people, which it claims is 90% effective.
On the day of the announcement, Pfizer's share price rose 15%, before falling back and closing 7% up on the previous day. Other industries reacted positively to the news, with global economic hopes seemingly pinned on the vaccine.
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Since the stock market crash that started in February 2020, Pfizer's share price has had significant positive movement.
Its last market close was $43.89, which is 22.78% up on its pre-crash value of $33.89 (accounting for the 17 November 2020 split) and 65.94% up on the lowest point reached during the March 2020 crash when the shares fell as low as $26.45 (accounting for the 17 November 2020 split).
If you had bought $1,000 worth of Pfizer shares at the start of February 2020, those shares would have been worth $759.55 at the bottom of the March crash, and if you held on to them, then as of the last market close they'd be worth $1,233.31.
| Open | $44.17 |
|---|---|
| High | $44.46 |
| Low | $43.31 |
| Close | $43.89 |
| Previous close | $44.47 |
| Change | $-0.58 |
| Change % | -1.3043% |
| Volume | 51,510,530 |
| 52-week range | $31.7629 - $51.86 |
|---|---|
| 50-day moving average | $46.5337 |
| 200-day moving average | $40.4119 |
| Wall St. target price | $46.03 |
| PE ratio | 18.7404 |
| Dividend yield | $1.54 (3.46%) |
| Earnings per share (TTM) | $2.342 |
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All investing should be regarded as longer term. The value of your investments can go up and down, and you may get back less than you invest. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. If you’re not sure which investments are right for you, please seek out a financial adviser. Capital at risk.
The technical analysis gauge below displays real-time ratings for the timeframes you select. This is not a recommendation, however. It represents a technical analysis based on the most popular technical indicators: Moving Averages, Oscillators and Pivots. Finder might not concur and takes no responsibility.
Historical closes compared with the last close of $43.89
| 1 week (2021-09-13) | -1.55% |
|---|---|
| 1 month (2021-08-20) | -9.91% |
| 3 months (2021-06-18) | 13.09% |
| 6 months (2021-03-19) | 23.53% |
| 1 year (2020-09-18) | 26.29% |
|---|---|
| 2 years (2019-09-20) | 26.08% |
| 3 years (2018-09-20) | 5.74% |
| 5 years (2016-09-20) | 36.82% |
Valuing a stock is incredibly difficult, and any metric has to be viewed as part of a bigger picture of overall performance. However, analysts commonly use some key metrics to help gauge value.
Pfizer's current share price divided by its per-share earnings (EPS) over a 12-month period gives a "trailing price/earnings ratio" of roughly 19x. In other words, Pfizer shares trade at around 19x recent earnings.
That's relatively low compared to, say, the trailing 12-month P/E ratio for the NASDAQ 100 at the end of 2019 (27.29). The low P/E ratio could mean that investors are pessimistic about the outlook for the shares or simply that they're under-valued.
However, Pfizer's P/E ratio is best considered in relation to those of others within the drug manufacturers-general industry or those of similar companies.
Pfizer's "price/earnings-to-growth ratio" can be calculated by dividing its P/E ratio by its growth – to give 1.9255. A PEG ratio over 1 can be interpreted as meaning shares are overvalued at the current rate of growth, or may anticipate an acceleration in growth.
The PEG ratio provides a broader view than just the P/E ratio, as it gives more insight into Pfizer's future profitability. By accounting for growth, it could also help you if you're comparing the share prices of multiple high-growth companies.
However, it's sensible to consider Pfizer's PEG ratio in relation to those of similar companies.
Pfizer's EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) is a whopping $20.1 billion (£14.7 billion).
The EBITDA is a measure of a Pfizer's overall financial performance and is widely used to measure a its profitability.
To put that into context you can compare it against similar companies.
| Revenue TTM | $55.5 billion |
|---|---|
| Operating margin TTM | 27.32% |
| Gross profit TTM | $33.3 billion |
| Return on assets TTM | 5.45% |
| Return on equity TTM | 18.35% |
| Profit margin | 23.8% |
| Book value | $12.51 |
| Market capitalisation | $246.1 billion |
TTM: trailing 12 months
There are currently 58.7 million Pfizer shares held short by investors – that's known as the "short interest". This figure is 7.7% up from 54.5 million last month.
There are a few different ways that this level of interest in shorting Pfizer shares can be evaluated.
Pfizer's "short interest ratio" (SIR) is the quantity of Pfizer shares currently shorted divided by the average quantity of Pfizer shares traded daily (recently around 45.8 million). Pfizer's SIR currently stands at 1.28. In other words for every 100,000 Pfizer shares traded daily on the market, roughly 1280 shares are currently held short.
To gain some more context, you can compare Pfizer's short interest ratio against those of similar companies.
However Pfizer's short interest can also be evaluated against the total number of Pfizer shares, or, against the total number of tradable Pfizer shares (the shares that aren't held by "insiders" or major long-term shareholders – also known as the "float"). In this case Pfizer's short interest could be expressed as 0.01% of the outstanding shares (for every 100,000 Pfizer shares in existence, roughly 10 shares are currently held short) or 0.0105% of the tradable shares (for every 100,000 tradable Pfizer shares, roughly 11 shares are currently held short).
Such a low SIR usually points to an optimistic outlook for the share price, with fewer people currently willing to bet against Pfizer.
Find out more about how you can short Pfizer stock.
Environmental, social and governance (known as ESG) criteria are a set of three factors used to measure the sustainability and social impact of companies like Pfizer.
Pfizer's total ESG risk: 33.15
Socially conscious investors use ESG scores to screen how an investment aligns with their worldview, and Pfizer's overall score of 33.15 (as at 01/01/2019) is pretty weak – landing it in it in the 60th percentile of companies rated in the same sector.
ESG scores are increasingly used to estimate the level of risk a company like Pfizer is exposed to within the areas of "environmental" (carbon footprint, resource use etc.), "social" (health and safety, human rights etc.), and "governance" (anti-corruption, tax transparency etc.).
To gain some more context, you can compare Pfizer's total ESG risk score against those of similar companies.
Pfizer's environmental score: 7/100
Pfizer's environmental score of 7 puts it squarely in the 6th percentile of companies rated in the same sector. This could suggest that Pfizer is a leader in its sector terms of its environmental impact, and exposed to a lower level of risk.
Pfizer's social score: 18.47/100
Pfizer's social score of 18.47 puts it squarely in the 6th percentile of companies rated in the same sector. This could suggest that Pfizer is a leader in its sector when it comes to taking good care of its workforce and the communities it impacts.
Pfizer's governance score: 13.68/100
Pfizer's governance score puts it squarely in the 6th percentile of companies rated in the same sector. That could suggest that Pfizer is a leader in its sector when it comes to responsible management and strategy, and exposed to a lower level of risk.
Pfizer's controversy score: 3/5
ESG scores also evaluate any incidences of controversy that a company has been involved in. A high-profile company, Pfizer scored a 3 out of 5 for controversy – a middle-of-the-table result reflecting that Pfizer hasn't always managed to keep its nose clean.
Wondering how that compares? Below are the controversy scores of similar companies.
Pfizer Inc was last rated for ESG on: 2019-01-01.
| Total ESG score | 33.15 |
|---|---|
| Total ESG percentile | 60 |
| Environmental score | 7 |
| Environmental score percentile | 6 |
| Social score | 18.47 |
| Social score percentile | 6 |
| Governance score | 13.68 |
| Governance score percentile | 6 |
| Level of controversy | 3 |
Dividend yield: 3.46% of stock value
Forward annual dividend yield: 3.51% of stock value
Dividend payout ratio: 48.73% of net profits
Pfizer has recently paid out dividends equivalent to 3.46% of its share value annually.
Pfizer has paid out, on average, around 48.73% of recent net profits as dividends. That has enabled analysts to estimate a "forward annual dividend yield" of 3.51% of the current stock value. This means that over a year, based on recent payouts (which are sadly no guarantee of future payouts), shareholders could enjoy a 3.51% return on their shares, in the form of dividend payments. In Pfizer's case, that would currently equate to about $1.54 per share.
While Pfizer's payout ratio might seem fairly standard, it's worth remembering that it may be investing much of the rest of its net profits in future growth.
Pfizer's most recent dividend payout was on 7 September 2021. The latest dividend was paid out to all shareholders who bought their shares by 29 July 2021 (the "ex-dividend date").
Pfizer's dividend yield is perhaps best considered in relation to those of similar companies.
Pfizer's shares were split on a 1054:1000 basis on 17 November 2020. So if you had owned 1000 shares the day before before the split, the next day you'd have owned 1054 shares. This wouldn't directly have changed the overall worth of your Pfizer shares – just the quantity. However, indirectly, the new 5.1% lower share price could have impacted the market appetite for Pfizer shares which in turn could have impacted Pfizer's share price.
Over the last 12 months, Pfizer's shares have ranged in value from as little as $31.7629 up to $51.86. A popular way to gauge a stock's volatility is its "beta".
Beta is a measure of a share's volatility in relation to the market. The market (NYSE average) beta is 1, while Pfizer's is 0.679. This would suggest that Pfizer's shares are less volatile than average (for this exchange).
To put Pfizer's beta into context you can compare it against those of similar companies.
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