Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX – Get Free Report) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $359.00.
Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $300.00 to $340.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $344.00 to $363.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 3rd. StockNews.com raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 14th. HC Wainwright upped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $326.00 to $380.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 2nd. Finally, Argus raised their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $340.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 29th.
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance
Shares of VRTX opened at $351.91 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $342.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $322.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 4.11 and a current ratio of 4.28. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $271.61 and a 52-week high of $367.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.51.
Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.05 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.51 by $0.54. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.40% and a return on equity of 25.06%. The firm had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.34 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.16 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 13.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals
In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 11,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $356.75, for a total value of $4,013,437.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,270,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 11,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $356.75, for a total transaction of $4,013,437.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 40,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,270,000. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bastiano Sanna sold 1,622 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.66, for a total value of $568,770.52. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 38,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,356,990.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 41,980 shares of company stock valued at $14,789,852. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals
A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 99,752.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 171,204,312 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $60,248,509,000 after buying an additional 171,032,855 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 10.1% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,517,548 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,368,554,000 after purchasing an additional 689,965 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 40.3% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,590,190 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,076,372,000 after purchasing an additional 1,892,523 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,409,257 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,700,938,000 after purchasing an additional 26,538 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,115,540 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,477,266,000 after purchasing an additional 359,719 shares during the last quarter. 91.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
About Vertex Pharmaceuticals
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, a biotechnology company, engages in developing and commercializing therapies for treating cystic fibrosis (CF). It markets TRIKAFTA/KAFTRIO and SYMDEKO/SYMKEVI for people with CF with at least one F508del mutation for 6 years of age or older; ORKAMBI for CF homozygous F508del mutation for CF patients 2 year or older; and KALYDECO for the treatment of patients with 4 months or older who have CF with a mutation that is responsive to ivacaftor, and R117H mutation or one of certain gating mutations.
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