Brokerages Set Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) PT at $492.92

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twenty-nine research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have assigned a hold recommendation and seventeen have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $492.92.

Several analysts have recently commented on VRTX shares. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $371.00 to $376.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $480.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $535.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. TD Cowen upped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $480.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX opened at $474.91 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 2.26 and a current ratio of 2.52. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $475.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $461.23. The stock has a market cap of $122.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.82 and a beta of 0.40. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $341.90 and a one year high of $510.64.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported ($12.83) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($12.54) by ($0.29). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.45% and a negative net margin of 4.74%. The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.66 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.53 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -2.11 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 5,295 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $508.00, for a total value of $2,689,860.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,320,000. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 5,295 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $508.00, for a total transaction of $2,689,860.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,320,000. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,280 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $476.75, for a total value of $1,086,990.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 23,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,088,728.25. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,005 shares of company stock valued at $5,988,066 in the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital World Investors increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 25,567,184 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $10,687,339,000 after acquiring an additional 3,761,414 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 61.0% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,743,882 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,401,000,000 after buying an additional 2,176,218 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.2% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,782,374 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,999,080,000 after buying an additional 837,461 shares during the period. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter valued at about $277,317,000. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at approximately $257,655,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.