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

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-one ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $494.04.

VRTX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $451.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $509.00 to $418.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $361.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $566.00 to $520.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $575.00 price target on the stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

VRTX stock opened at $407.11 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $104.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -204.58 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 2.20. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $455.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $470.19. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $377.85 and a 1 year high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.77. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.52% and a negative return on equity of 1.91%. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.67 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 58 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

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.