Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Price Target Increased to $474.00 by Analysts at Morgan Stanley

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) had its target price upped by Morgan Stanley from $462.00 to $474.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the pharmaceutical company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 1.92% from the stock’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on VRTX. StockNews.com cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $505.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $431.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Barclays downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $472.00 to $509.00 in a report on Monday, August 5th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $487.23.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of VRTX opened at $465.08 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 2.52 and a quick ratio of 2.26. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $479.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $454.54. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $341.85 and a 1-year high of $510.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $120.04 billion, a PE ratio of 30.18 and a beta of 0.40.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported ($12.83) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($12.54) by ($0.29). The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.66 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.45% and a negative net margin of 4.74%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.53 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -2.14 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $323,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,217,500. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $323,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,217,500. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,280 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.34, for a total value of $1,111,135.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 27,819 shares in the company, valued at $13,557,311.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 31,767 shares of company stock valued at $15,768,284 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Groesbeck Investment Management Corp NJ boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Groesbeck Investment Management Corp NJ now owns 1,794 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $841,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% during the second quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. now owns 3,586 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,681,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.0% in the second quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,101 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $516,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.0% in the second quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 158 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.0% during the second quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 423 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $198,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in 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.