Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Stock Price Up 1.8% – Here’s What Happened

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)’s stock price was up 1.8% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $494.41 and last traded at $492.56. Approximately 168,654 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 1,283,260 shares. The stock had previously closed at $484.01.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRTX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $435.00 to $467.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $533.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $408.00 to $424.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $500.00 to $550.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $503.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $509.17.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $481.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $463.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $121.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -215.74, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.50.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $1,615,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,256,000. The trade was a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 310 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.83, for a total value of $142,547.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 64,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,438,776.43. This represents a 0.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012 over the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. ABC Arbitrage SA acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $1,510,000. Czech National Bank grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 55,838 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $22,486,000 after purchasing an additional 3,260 shares in the last quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 5,771 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,324,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Davidson Investment Advisors lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 26.0% during the fourth quarter. Davidson Investment Advisors now owns 61,161 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $24,630,000 after buying an additional 12,631 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 75.5% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,468 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $994,000 after buying an additional 1,062 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.