GetCoattail Research — The Filing Tape #142. Pfizer has been one of the most searched-for stocks on Zacks.com lately, and the filings behind that attention describe a register that is narrower than the name: 15 of the 147 superinvestors held the common stock at June 30, 2026, the largest of them — Richard Pzena - Pzena Investment Management, with 5,958,922 shares — accounting for 30.0% of the tracked stake. Inside the company the record runs the other way from most of this series: insiders recorded three open-market purchases worth $2,960,109.90 in the last 90 days, against a single sale.
The Hype
Pfizer's attention is search-driven. Zacks reported on October 20, 2026 that the stock "has recently been on Zacks.com's list of the most searched stocks," with shares returning +6.1% over the past month against +0.7% for the Zacks S&P 500 composite and +2.1% for the Zacks Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry, while the current-quarter consensus earnings estimate stands at $0.72 per share, down 17.2% from a year earlier, after a 4.2% cut to the consensus over the last 30 days. Zacks Our price file adds the path that produced that search traffic: Pfizer fell 14.2% in the second quarter, from $28.08 on March 31 to $24.08 on June 30, then recovered to $27.80 by October 2 — up 15.4% from the quarter-end close, up 11.6% year to date, up 2.7% from a year ago and 4.2% below its 252-session high close of $29.02, set on September 2, 2026. A drugmaker whose estimates are being trimmed while its price climbs back: the filings answer who holds it, and what insiders have done.
The Tape
For Pfizer — the one hundred and forty-second Filing Tape audit — the tape shows a tracked register of fifteen holders split almost evenly between raising and cutting, a full market that shed filers while adding shares, an insider record led by purchases rather than sales, a single recorded congressional sale, a two-line passive 5% register, and a borrow that set its series peak in July and sits 37.4% above its year-ago level.
| Lens | As of | What the filings show | Direction vs prior period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Superinvestors (13F) | Jun 30, 2026 | 15 holders of 147 tracked managers hold 19,871,870 shares; the top holder is 30.0% of the tracked stake | 6 increased, 6 decreased, 2 unchanged, 1 new; 2 exited; verified continuing holders +4.5% |
| All institutions (13F) | Jun 30, 2026 | 2,832 filers; 3,778,604,587 shares; reported value $92,762,824,523 | Filers −88; shares +18.29%; reported value +2.00% |
| Insiders (Form 4) | Oct 2, 2026 | Last 90 days: 3 purchases and 1 sale; full record: 4 purchases and 3 sales | Purchases of $2,960,109.90 in 90 days against one $83,261.20 sale |
| Congress | Oct 3, 2026 | One recorded sale in the combined and Senate aggregates; no House row; no purchases | None recorded beyond the single sale |
| 13D/G | May 1, 2026 | 2 parsed filings (0 SC 13D family, 2 SC 13G family); register maximum 7.51% | Latest filing May 1, 2026 prints Vanguard Capital Management at 7.51%, as of Mar 31, 2026 |
| Short interest (FINRA) | Sep 15, 2026 | 155,202,257 shares; 4.90 days to cover; 2.72% of the share count | Down 5.3% from the Jul 15, 2026 series peak; up 37.4% from a year ago |
Lens 1 — the superinvestors: fifteen holders, split down the middle. We track 149 managers whose 13F portfolios we collect from SEC EDGAR — 147 are in the collection (144 at a June 30 period-end, 3 early filers at September 30, one of them holding this name at September 30, handled separately below) — and the June 30, 2026 register for the common stock (CUSIP 717081103) is 15 distinct managers holding 19,871,870 shares worth $478,493,759, long only, with no option rows: six rows are labelled INCREASED, six DECREASED, two UNCHANGED and one NEW, and two holders exited during the quarter. Richard Pzena - Pzena Investment Management is the register's largest holder: 5,958,922 shares worth $143,490,842 — 30.0% of the tracked stake — at a 0.42% portfolio weight, labelled INCREASED (filed August 7, 2026). The second holder, Harry Burn - Sound Shore, holds 3,820,117 shares — 19.2% of the tracked stake, at a 2.83% weight, also INCREASED — so the top two together are 49.2% of the cohort. The register's movement is verified, not just labelled: all 14 continuing holders reconcile row by row, and together they held 18,797,154 shares at March 31 and 19,640,870 at June 30, a rise of 4.5%. The one NEW row is Bruce Berkowitz - Fairholme Capital, with 231,000 shares. The two exits are OrbiMed Advisors, which held 1,946,500 shares at March 31, and Mondrian Investment Partners, which held 4,360. One September 30 early filer also holds the name: Sarasin & Partners reports 780,970 shares at September 30, labelled DECREASED, down from the 845,257 shares in its June register row. With that filer's rows counted on both quarters, the full register reconciles with no residual (methodology). The June rows imply $24.08, the June 30 close (methodology). 13F figures are as of June 30, 2026, published up to 45 days later.
Lens 2 — institutions: fewer filers, more shares. At June 30, 2026, 2,832 institutions reported positions, down 88 from 2,920 at March 31 (−3.01%); 2,823 are long. Reported shares nevertheless rose 18.29% to 3,778,604,587 (+584,137,611 shares), and reported value rose 2.00% to $92,762,824,523, labelled "reported" because the aggregate includes option rows (methodology), in a quarter when the price fell 14.2%. Flow counts agree (1,835 entered, 1,923 exited, net −88), and the single-CUSIP breakdown matches the by-ticker aggregate on every field (methodology). Against that total, the tracked cohort's 19,871,870 shares are 0.53% of reported institutional shares.
Lens 3 — insiders: purchases lead, and they are all recent. The parsed Form 4 record holds 171 filings through October 2, 2026, and its purchase side is the populated one. Across the full record there are 4 open-market purchases (134,320 shares for $3,459,181.95, by 3 buyers, 1 of them an officer purchase) against 3 sales (7,778 shares for $199,486.20, by 1 seller). The last 90 days hold 3 purchases (114,863 shares for $2,960,109.90, by 3 buyers, including one officer purchase of $1,000,920.00) against 1 sale (3,278 shares for $83,261.20) — and the last year's purchase count is the same 3, for the same $2,960,109.90, so every recorded purchase in the one-year window sits inside the last 90 days; the fourth purchase in the full record is older than a year. The purchases imply $25.77 per share over the last 90 days and the sales $25.40 — every cited purchase and sales figure sits inside its window's close range (methodology). The site's insider aggregate, on a later window, records the same 90-day counts and values, and flags a chief-executive purchase with the last purchase dated August 12, 2026 (methodology).
Lens 4 — Congress: one sale, no purchases. The combined aggregate (as of October 3, 2026) carries a row for this name recording 0 purchases and 1 sale; the Senate aggregate (as of October 1, 2026) carries the same row, and the House aggregate carries no row — so the single recorded transaction sits on the Senate side, and no purchase is recorded in any of the three aggregates.
Lens 5 — the 5% register: two passive filings, maximum 7.51%. Our full parse holds 2 SC 13D/G filings matching the site aggregate exactly — 0 SC 13D family and 2 SC 13G family (1 SC 13G, 1 amendment); 2 reporter names across 2 rows. The maximum, which is also the latest filing, is Vanguard Capital Management at 427,444,872 shares and 7.51% as of March 31, 2026 (filed May 1, 2026, SC 13G). The other filing, from The Vanguard Group, prints 0 shares as of March 13, 2026 (methodology). There is no activist-form filing in the register.
Lens 6 — short interest: a July peak, still well above a year ago. The latest FINRA settlement, September 15, 2026, records 155,202,257 shares sold short at 4.90 days to cover, up 2.42% from the prior settlement — 2.72% of the share count in our fundamentals file (dated July 29, 2026). The series peak across all 137 settlements is 163,820,439 shares, set on July 15, 2026, so the latest reading sits 5.3% below that peak; it is also 5.1% below the June 30, 2026 settlement (163,578,117 shares) and 37.4% above the year-ago settlement (112,932,270 shares on September 15, 2025). The recent path runs 163,578,117 (June 30), 163,820,439 (July 15), 161,478,227 (July 31), 149,271,132 (August 14), 151,537,890 (August 31) and 155,202,257 (September 15) — a peak, a step down, then two rises in a row. No step in the series reaches 2x and none falls to one-half (methodology).
The Gap
The narrative arriving this week is a search-and-estimates one: a most-searched drugmaker whose consensus estimate has been cut 4.2% in a month, while its price has outrun both the index and its industry. The June tape describes sponsorship that is real but narrow and unsettled. Fifteen tracked managers hold the name, yet two of them hold 49.2% of the tracked shares, the other thirteen divide the rest, and the cohort's own labels split six increases against six decreases — with the largest single move out of the register an exit, OrbiMed's 1,946,500 shares. The broad market moved the opposite way on breadth: 88 fewer filers reported, even as reported shares rose 18.29%. The one lens that runs clearly with the recent price recovery is the insider lens — three purchases worth $2,960,109.90 in 90 days, against one small sale — but it is three buyers and a small absolute sum next to a $92,762,824,523 institutional register. Against that, the borrow built to a series peak in July and remains 37.4% above its year-ago level, and the 5% register holds nothing but two Vanguard lines, the larger at 7.51%. One plausible reading is that the filings describe a stock being re-bought selectively — by a handful of tracked managers who mostly trimmed or held, and by insiders in small size — while the borrow and the estimate cuts describe the other side of the same quarter.
What Would Change the Picture
Nothing above is a recommendation. These filings would change it:
- 1. The 2026Q3 13F season (filing window closing mid-November 2026). The tracked baseline is 15 June holders with 19,871,870 shares and a top-two share of 49.2%. Whether Pzena (5,958,922 shares) and Sound Shore (3,820,117 shares) hold their positions, whether the six increasers and six decreasers resolve in one direction, whether OrbiMed Advisors reappears after its exit, and what Sarasin & Partners' September line (780,970 shares) does next would each change this lens.
- 2. A fourth recent insider purchase — or a first large sale. The parsed record holds 4 purchases against 3 sales, with every purchase in the one-year window inside the last 90 days. A further purchase would extend a streak that is currently three buyers and $2,960,109.90; a sale materially larger than the $83,261.20 recorded in the last 90 days would break the one-sided pattern.
- 3. A first congressional purchase. The combined, House and Senate aggregates record one sale and no purchases. Any recorded purchase, in either chamber, would change this lens from sale-only to two-sided.
- 4. A first SC 13D filing, or a new 5% print above 7.51%. The register's 2 filings are all SC 13G family, and its only live print is Vanguard Capital Management at 7.51% as of March 31, 2026. A first activist-form filing, or any print above 7.51%, would change this lens.
- 5. Short interest back above the July peak, or below the August 14 reading. The borrow stands at 155,202,257 shares, 5.3% below the July 15, 2026 peak of 163,820,439 after two straight rises. A reading above 163,820,439 would set a new series peak; a reading below 149,271,132 would resume the step down that followed the peak.
Related reading: One of 147: Fundsmith Is the Superinvestors' Only Nextpower Holder — a New Position. Its Insiders Have Never Bought a Share.; Seven of 147: Lone Pine Exited Vistra in Q2. Its CEO Bought Three Times in August and September.. Pfizer's own page: Pfizer (PFE) on GetCoattail.
Methodology and data notes
- As-of & limits: The lenses rest on different clocks, none live: 13F is a June 30, 2026 snapshot published up to 45 days later; Form 4 runs through October 2, 2026; Congress aggregates run through October 3, 2026 (Senate through October 1, 2026); 13D/G through May 1, 2026; short interest through September 15, 2026; the price file ends October 2, 2026. Seven limits are specific to this audit. First, the roster expanded before the recent audits — from 85 managers (83 filing) to 149 (147 filing) — so "of 147" counts are not comparable to earlier pieces' "of 83" figures. Second, this name carries a period split in its headline count — 15 of its tracked common-stock holders sit on a June 30, 2026 period-end and one September 30, 2026 early filer, Sarasin & Partners, also holds it — and the register reconciles exactly on both quarters once that filer's own rows are counted on the same quarters: the March 31 register (22,103,801 shares) is the 14 verified continuing holders' 18,797,154 shares plus the two exited holders' 1,950,860 plus Sarasin's March row of 1,355,787, and the June 30 register (20,717,127 shares) is the June register's 19,871,870 plus Sarasin's June row of 845,257, with no residual in either quarter, as detailed in Lens 1. Sarasin's September 30 line (780,970 shares, labelled DECREASED at −7.6%) recomputes exactly against its June row, and its September implied price of $28.52 is the September 30 close. Third, the full-market aggregate for this issuer rests on a single CUSIP line (CUSIP 717081103), and the by-CUSIP row matches the by-ticker aggregate on every field; its implied price of $24.55 sits 1.95% above the June 30 close of $24.08 because the reported aggregate includes option rows, which is why share counts, not reported value, are this audit's primary institution measure. Fourth, every insider figure cited sits inside its window's close range (90-day purchases imply $25.77 and sales $25.40 against a $23.72–$29.02 close range; one-year purchases $25.77 and sales $25.51 against $23.67–$29.02; full record purchases $25.75 and sales $25.65 against $21.59–$61.25). The site's 90-day insider aggregate (dated October 20, 2026) records the same counts and values as the full parse's 90 days to October 2, 2026, and its chief-executive purchase flag and August 12, 2026 last-purchase date are that file's own fields, reported as recorded. Fifth, the 5% register's cross-date share total of 427,444,872 is a single live print, not a sum of two: the other filing — The Vanguard Group at 0 shares and 0.0% as of March 13, 2026 (filed March 27, 2026, SC 13G/A) — is keyed to the same CUSIP, so it sits inside the aggregate by definition and changes neither the maximum nor the economics of the register; the parsed total matches the aggregate total exactly. Sixth, the short-interest series carries no step of 2x or more and no step to one-half (largest step 1.528x at the November 15, 2024 settlement, smallest 0.733x at the December 30, 2022 settlement), no row carries a split flag, four rows carry a FINRA revision flag (April 15, 2021; June 15, 2021; May 31, 2023; January 15, 2025), and our price file records no split entries for this name, so settlements across the full series are compared directly. The issuer-name field reads "Pfizer Inc." at all 137 settlements, on a single market class (NYSE) throughout. Against the share count in our fundamentals file — 5,699,673,589 shares outstanding dated July 29, 2026 — the latest borrow is 2.72%; that denominator is current, so this audit presents it as a current share-count percentage alongside share counts and days to cover. Seventh, the Congress lens is stated as recorded: the combined and Senate aggregates carry a row recording one sale and no purchases (the aggregate's member count field reads 0, which this audit does not convert into a claim about who traded), and the House aggregate carries no row. The June tracked rows imply the June 30 close of $24.08 exactly. The company's fundamentals as collected print fiscal 2025 revenue of $62,579,000,000, net income of $7,771,000,000 and assets of $208,160,000,000 (fiscal year ended December 31, 2025), with 5,699,673,589 shares outstanding as of July 29, 2026; those figures are reported as collected and are not used in any lens above. Every price statement here is mechanical, a date and a close from our price file. The Zacks report (published October 20, 2026) postdates the 13F snapshot and the short-interest series; its search-list status, one-month return, industry return and consensus estimates are reported as outlet content in The Hype, and no other figure from it is cited.
- Market context sources: Zacks, "Pfizer Inc. (PFE) Is a Trending Stock: Facts to Know Before Betting on It", published October 20, 2026 (Pfizer on Zacks.com's list of most searched stocks; shares +6.1% over the past month against +0.7% for the Zacks S&P 500 composite; Zacks Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry +2.1% over the period; current-quarter consensus EPS estimate $0.72, −17.2% year over year; consensus cut 4.2% over the last 30 days). Figures we could not confirm were left out; the external items above are reported speech from that outlet, not GetCoattail measurements.
- Pfizer is in the GetCoattail stock-page universe: Pfizer (PFE) stock page. Series data: pfe_lens_data.csv · pfe_short_interest_series.csv. Earlier audits: Nextpower · Vistra.
Past patterns are not a promise of future results. For education only — not investment advice.
This article describes public filings as of the dates stated. It is not investment advice and makes no recommendation. Filings lag reality: 13F positions are as of June 30, 2026, and later trading is not yet public.
Revision history: v1.0 — October 21, 2026: first publication.