Bank of America Cuts Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Price Target to $541.00

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) had its price objective reduced by Bank of America from $550.00 to $541.00 in a research note released on Monday, Benzinga reports. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the pharmaceutical company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $462.00 to $474.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Barclays lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $472.00 to $509.00 in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $545.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $535.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $480.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $488.92.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $487.25 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $474.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $458.81. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $341.90 and a 12-month high of $510.64. The company has a market capitalization of $125.76 billion, a P/E ratio of -240.02 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a quick ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported ($12.83) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($12.54) by ($0.29). The company had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.66 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.74% and a negative return on equity of 2.45%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.53 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $323,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,435 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,217,500. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $323,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,435 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,217,500. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Reshma Kewalramani sold 15,202 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $497.00, for a total transaction of $7,555,394.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 106,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,767,484. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 29,487 shares of company stock worth $14,657,149. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Annapolis Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Stephens Consulting LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Founders Capital Management raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 50.0% during the 2nd quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 75 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, ZRC Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth $39,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by 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 for people with CF with at least one F508del mutation for 2 years of age or older; SYMDEKO/SYMKEVI for people with CF for 6 years of age or older; ORKAMBI for CF patients 1 year or older; and KALYDECO for the treatment of patients with 1 year or older who have CF with ivacaftor.