Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTXGet Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-four research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twenty have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $563.50.

A number of brokerages have commented on VRTX. Stifel Nicolaus set a $500.00 price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $436.00 to $442.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $543.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $590.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $615.00 to $617.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday.

Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on VRTX

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $524.99, for a total value of $787,485.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 45,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,793,071.79. The trade was a 3.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 1,541 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $519.00, for a total value of $799,779.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 11,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,709,519. This trade represents a 12.29% 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 17,452 shares of company stock worth $8,103,997. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 414.1% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 14,036 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $6,363,000 after buying an additional 11,306 shares in the last quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 77.1% in the 1st quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 77,886 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $34,779,000 after acquiring an additional 33,917 shares during the last quarter. Sandro Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth $1,436,000. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 11.9% in the first quarter. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. now owns 34,991 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $15,625,000 after purchasing an additional 3,710 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meiji Yasuda America Inc bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,911,000. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $484.83 on Thursday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $362.50 and a 12-month high of $533.67. The company has a market capitalization of $123.05 billion, a PE ratio of 28.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.30. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $473.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $460.97.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTXGet Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.73 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.74 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $3.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.23 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.09% and a net margin of 35.00%.Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.52 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 17.03 EPS for the current year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

Recommended Stories

Analyst Recommendations for Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Receive News & Ratings for Vertex Pharmaceuticals Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Vertex Pharmaceuticals and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.