Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX – Get Free Report) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-six research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twenty have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $555.1739.
A number of brokerages have commented on VRTX. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $541.00 to $543.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Barclays raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $607.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. UBS Group increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $495.00 to $558.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $590.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, February 13th.
Get Our Latest Stock Report on Vertex Pharmaceuticals
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 3.0%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.23. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.51% and a return on equity of 23.86%. The company had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.06 EPS. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 16.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Insider Activity
In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 6,988 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total transaction of $3,144,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 26,088 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,739,600. This represents a 21.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Joy Liu sold 1,104 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.02, for a total transaction of $469,222.08. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 20,729 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,810,239.58. The trade was a 5.06% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 79,802 shares of company stock valued at $37,402,568. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Institutional Trading of Vertex Pharmaceuticals
Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.8% during the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 544,978 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $213,435,000 after purchasing an additional 20,053 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $64,417,000. Leuthold Group LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $5,030,000. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $956,000. Finally, ING Groep NV bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $4,695,000. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.
About Vertex Pharmaceuticals
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc is a Boston-based biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of therapies for serious diseases. Founded in 1989, Vertex built its reputation on research-driven drug development and is best known for its work in cystic fibrosis (CF), where its portfolio of small-molecule CFTR modulators transformed standards of care for many people with the disease. The company operates research and development, manufacturing and commercial organizations and serves patients and healthcare systems in multiple international markets.
Vertex’s marketed products center on CFTR modulators that target the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis rather than just treating symptoms.
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