Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE) stock is down 1.1% to trade at $26.03 at last check. PFE is reversing premarket lead despite the pharmaceutical giant reporting adjusted first-quarter earnings of 75 cents per share on $14.45 million in revenue, both of which topped estimates. The company also reaffirmed its 2026 outlook thanks to new product growth.
Last week, the shares breached their 126-day moving average for the first time on a closing basis all year. PFE is now testing $26, an area that's stepped up as support since February. For the year, the shares sport a 5.8% lead.
Options traders have preferred calls. The equity's 10-day put/call volume ratio of 6.29 at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) sits in the 76th percentile of its annual range.
However, short-term options traders are eyeing puts, per Pfizer stock's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) that ranks in the 80h percentile of annual readings. Drilling down to today's options activity, 45,000 puts have already crossed the tape, which is four times the amount typically seen at this point. The most active contract by far is the June 24 put, with new positions bought to open.
Pfizer's Schaeffer's Volatility Scorecard (SVS) comes in at 6 out of 100. In other words, shares have consistently realized lower volatility than its options have priced in over the past 12 months, making it a premium-selling candidate.
