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

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-six brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $485.91.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on VRTX shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $540.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $505.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $480.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $489.73 on Thursday. 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 market capitalization of $126.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.78 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $481.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $445.24. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $340.83 and a fifty-two week high of $510.64.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported ($12.83) earnings per share (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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.66 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.53 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -1.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, CEO Reshma Kewalramani sold 15,202 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $497.00, for a total transaction of $7,555,394.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 106,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,767,484. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Edward Morrow Atkinson III sold 7,288 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $478.00, for a total value of $3,483,664.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,972 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,634,616. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Reshma Kewalramani sold 15,202 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $497.00, for a total transaction of $7,555,394.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 106,172 shares in the company, valued at $52,767,484. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 39,185 shares of company stock valued at $19,206,094. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 25,567,184 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $10,687,339,000 after buying an additional 3,761,414 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,676,518 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $9,479,011,000 after purchasing an additional 394,338 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted 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 purchasing an additional 2,176,218 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.2% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,782,374 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,999,080,000 after purchasing an additional 837,461 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,237,877,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.