How to buy Pfizer shares

Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine (co-developed with BioNTech) has made headlines with the announcement of its 95% efficacy rate. But this early data is subject to change and the vaccine must pass rigorous testing by the Therapeutic Goods Administration’s (TGA) before it's approved for use in Australia.

Pfizer Inc (PFE) is a leading drug manufacturers-general business with stocks listed in the US. It opened the day at US$35.9 after a previous close of US$35.96. During the day the price has varied from a low of USD35.9 to a high of USD36.81. The latest price was USD36.6 (25 minute delay). Pfizer is listed on the NYSE. All prices are listed in US Dollars.

How to buy shares in Pfizer

1. Compare share trading platforms. To buy shares in a US company from Australia you'll need to find a trading platform that offers access to US stock markets. If you're just starting out, look for a platform with low brokerage and foreign exchange fees.
2. Open and fund your brokerage account. Complete an application with your personal and financial details, like your ID and tax file number. Fund your account with a bank transfer, credit card or debit card.
3. Search for Pfizer. Find the share by name or ticker symbol: PFE. Research its history to confirm it's a solid investment against your financial goals.
4. Purchase now or later. Buy today with a market order or use a limit order to delay your purchase until Pfizer reaches your desired price. To spread out your risk, look into dollar-cost averaging, which smooths out buying at consistent intervals and amounts.
5. Decide on how many to buy. At last close price of US$33.82, weigh your budget against a diversified portfolio that can minimise risk through the market's ups and downs. You may be able to buy a fractional share of Pfizer, depending on your broker.
6. Check in on your investment. Congratulations, you own a part of Pfizer. Optimise your portfolio by tracking how your stock — and even the business — performs with an eye on the long term. You may be eligible for dividends and shareholder voting rights on directors and management that can affect your stock.

Pfizer share price

Use our graph to track the performance of PFE stocks over time.

Pfizer shares at a glance

• Live prices
• Key figures

Information last updated 2021-04-09.

Open	US$35.9
High	US$36.81
Low	US$35.9
Close	US$36.6
Previous close	US$35.96
Change	US$0.64
Change %	1.7798%
Volume	31,304,134

Information last updated 2021-04-08.

52-week range	US$29.0501 - US$42.6161
50-day moving average	US$35.0686
200-day moving average	US$36.003
Target price	US$40.54
PE ratio	21.0662
Dividend yield	US$1.52 (4.23%)
Earnings per share (TTM)	US$1.707

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The value of your investments can fall as well as rise and you may get back less than you invested. Past performance is no indication of future results.

Is it a good time to buy Pfizer stock?

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.

Technical Analysis of Pfizer Inc by TradingView

Pfizer price performance over time

Historical closes compared with the last close of $36.6

1 week (2021-04-05)	0.88%
1 month (2021-03-12)	4.75%
3 months (2021-01-08)	-1.43%
6 months (2020-10-08)	4.57%

1 year (2020-04-08)	11.49%
2 years (2019-04-08)	-10.58%
3 years (2018-04-08)	inf%
5 years (2016-04-08)	18.70%

Is Pfizer under- or over-valued?

Valuing Pfizer stock is incredibly difficult, and any metric has to be viewed as part of a bigger picture of Pfizer's overall performance. However, analysts commonly use some key metrics to help gauge the value of a stock.

Pfizer's P/E ratio

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 21x. In other words, Pfizer shares trade at around 21x 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.

Pfizer's PEG ratio

Pfizer's "price/earnings-to-growth ratio" can be calculated by dividing its P/E ratio by its growth – to give 1.8553. A low ratio can be interpreted as meaning the shares offer better value, while a higher ratio can be interpreted as meaning the shares offer worse value.

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.

Pfizer's EBITDA

Pfizer's EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) is US$14.9 billion (£10.9 billion).

The EBITDA is a measure of a Pfizer's overall financial performance and is widely used to measure a its profitability.

Pfizer financials

Revenue TTM	US$41.9 billion
Operating margin TTM	24.17%
Gross profit TTM	US$33.3 billion
Return on assets TTM	3.93%
Return on equity TTM	11.06%
Profit margin	22.95%
Book value	11.359
Market capitalisation	US$200.3 billion

TTM: trailing 12 months

Shorting Pfizer shares

There are currently 68.3 million Pfizer shares held short by investors – that's known as Pfizer's "short interest". This figure is 8.2% up from 63.1 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)

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 30.8 million). Pfizer's SIR currently stands at 2.22. In other words for every 100,000 Pfizer shares traded daily on the market, roughly 2220 shares are currently held short.

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 0.0123% of the tradable shares (for every 100,000 tradable Pfizer shares, roughly 12 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.

Pfizer's environmental, social and governance track record

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.

When it comes to ESG scores, lower is better, and lower scores are generally associated with lower risk for would-be investors.

Pfizer's total ESG risk score

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 12/31/2018) 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.).

Pfizer's environmental score

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

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

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

Controversy score: 3/5

ESG scores also evaluate any incidences of controversy that a company has been involved in. 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.

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) summary

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

Pfizer share dividends

Dividend payout ratio: 54.1% of net profits

Recently Pfizer has paid out, on average, around 54.1% of net profits as dividends. That has enabled analysts to estimate a "forward annual dividend yield" of 4.34% of the current stock value. This means that over a year, based on recent payouts (which are sadly no guarantee of future payouts), Pfizer shareholders could enjoy a 4.34% return on their shares, in the form of dividend payments. In Pfizer's case, that would currently equate to about $1.52 per share.

Pfizer's payout ratio would broadly be considered high, and as such this stock could appeal to those looking to generate an income. Bear in mind however that companies should normally also look to re-invest a decent amount of net profits to ensure future growth.

Pfizer's most recent dividend payout was on 4 March 2021. The latest dividend was paid out to all shareholders who bought their shares by 27 January 2021 (the "ex-dividend date").

Have Pfizer's shares ever split?

Pfizer's shares were split on a 1054:1000 basis on 16 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.

Pfizer share price volatility

Over the last 12 months, Pfizer's shares have ranged in value from as little as US$29.0501 up to US$42.6161. 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 0.6531. This would suggest that Pfizer's shares are less volatile than average (for this exchange).

Pfizer overview

Pfizer Inc. discovers, develops, manufactures, markets, distributes, and sells biopharmaceutical products worldwide. It offers medicines and vaccines in various therapeutic areas, including cardiovascular metabolic and pain under the Eliquis, Chantix/Champix, and Premarin family brands; biologics, small molecules, immunotherapies, and biosimilars under the Ibrance, Xtandi, Sutent, Inlyta, Retacrit, Lorbrena, and Braftovi brands; and sterile injectable and anti-infective medicines under the Sulperazon, Medrol, Zithromax, Vfend, and Panzyga brands. The company also provides medicines and vaccines in various therapeutic areas, such as pneumococcal disease, meningococcal disease, tick-borne encephalitis, and COVID-19 under the Prevnar 13/Prevenar 13 (pediatric/adult), Nimenrix, FSME/IMMUN-TicoVac, Trumenba, and the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine brands; biosimilars for chronic immune and inflammatory diseases under the Xeljanz, Enbrel, Inflectra, and Eucrisa/Staquis brands; and amyloidosis, hemophilia, and endocrine diseases under the Vyndaqel/Vyndamax, BeneFIX, and Genotropin brands. In addition, the company is involved in the contract manufacturing business. It serves wholesalers, retailers, hospitals, clinics, government agencies, pharmacies, and individual provider offices, as well as disease control and prevention centers. The company has collaboration agreements with Bristol-Myers Squibb Company; Astellas Pharma US, Inc.; Myovant Sciences Ltd.; Akcea Therapeutics, Inc; Merck KGaA; Valneva SE; BioNTech SE; and Syapse, Inc. Pfizer Inc. was founded in 1849 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

Frequently asked questions

• What percentage of Pfizer is owned by insiders or institutions?

  Currently 0.038% of Pfizer shares are held by insiders and 67.6% by institutions.

• When does the fiscal year end for Pfizer?

  Pfizer's fiscal year ends in December.

• Where is Pfizer based?

  Pfizer's address is: 235 East 42nd Street, New York, NY, United States, 10017

• What is Pfizer's ISIN number?

  Pfizer's international securities identification number is: US7170811035

• What is Pfizer's CUSIP number?

  Pfizer's Committee on Uniform Securities Identification Procedures number is: 717081103