Morgan Stanley Issues Positive Forecast for Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Stock Price

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) had its price target boosted by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $473.00 to $476.00 in a 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 price target indicates a potential downside of 3.57% from the company’s current price.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $505.00 to $510.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. StockNews.com cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $535.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $495.96.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX opened at $493.64 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $474.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $466.95. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $127.41 billion, a PE ratio of -248.06 and a beta of 0.39. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $341.90 and a one year high of $510.64.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.61 by $0.77. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.52% and a negative return on equity of 1.88%. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.67 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Adero Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Adero Partners LLC now owns 1,342 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $624,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 303.9% in the third quarter. Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC now owns 1,769 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $823,000 after purchasing an additional 1,331 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.8% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 461,886 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $214,813,000 after purchasing an additional 25,301 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 289.0% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 77,393 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $35,994,000 after purchasing an additional 57,497 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.7% during the third quarter. Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. now owns 1,523 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $708,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.