Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.77 EPS

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) released its earnings results on Monday. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.61 by $0.77, Briefing.com reports. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.69 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 1.88% and a negative net margin of 4.52%. The company’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.67 EPS. Vertex Pharmaceuticals updated its FY 2024 guidance to EPS.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock traded down $6.24 on Wednesday, hitting $493.64. The stock had a trading volume of 1,648,698 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,172,090. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $474.81 and a 200 day moving average of $466.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 2.26 and a current ratio of 2.52. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $341.90 and a twelve month high of $510.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $127.41 billion, a P/E ratio of -248.06 and a beta of 0.39.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $323,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,217,500. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total transaction of $1,888,216.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 9,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,987,006. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $323,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,217,500. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $480.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $451.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $535.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Barclays downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $472.00 to $509.00 in a report on Monday, August 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $495.96.

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.