Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Given Buy Rating at Truist Financial

Truist Financial reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $550.00 target price on the pharmaceutical company’s stock, up from their previous target price of $508.00.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $540.00 to $555.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $505.00 to $510.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $424.00 to $421.00 and set a sector perform rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Needham & Company LLC restated a hold rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, HC Wainwright raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $462.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $485.91.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ VRTX traded down $2.62 on Monday, hitting $474.29. The stock had a trading volume of 1,626,006 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,220,707. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $340.68 and a one year high of $510.64. The company has a quick ratio of 3.29, a current ratio of 3.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The stock has a market cap of $122.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.78 and a beta of 0.39. The company’s 50-day moving average is $479.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $440.12.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported ($12.83) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($12.54) by ($0.29). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.36% and a negative net margin of 4.74%. The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.66 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.53 EPS. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -1.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 5,295 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 40,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,320,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Reshma Kewalramani 15,202 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 5,295 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at approximately $20,320,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 53,423 shares of company stock worth $25,528,865 in the last quarter. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Annapolis Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 97.1% in the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 67 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, ICA Group Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.