Scotiabank Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Stock

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) had its target price raised by research analysts at Scotiabank from $480.00 to $486.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “sector perform” rating on the pharmaceutical company’s stock. Scotiabank’s price target suggests a potential downside of 1.55% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $480.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $541.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 14th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $550.00 target price (up from $508.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $562.00 to $586.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $495.96.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.2 %

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $493.64 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 stock has a market capitalization of $127.41 billion, a P/E ratio of -248.06 and a beta of 0.39. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $474.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $466.95. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $341.90 and a 12 month high of $510.64.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $2.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.67 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -2.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 transaction of $323,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,435 shares in the company, valued at $2,217,500. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 9,994 shares in the company, valued at $4,987,006. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,217,500. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. Adero Partners LLC raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Adero Partners LLC now owns 1,342 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $624,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 period. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.8% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 461,886 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $214,813,000 after purchasing an additional 25,301 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 289.0% during 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 during the period. Finally, Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.7% in the 3rd 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 period. 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.