Royal Bank of Canada Increases Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Price Target to $451.00

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) had its price target raised by Royal Bank of Canada from $437.00 to $451.00 in a report issued on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a sector perform rating on the pharmaceutical company’s stock.

VRTX has been the topic of a number of other reports. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $371.00 to $376.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America reduced their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $541.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 14th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, October 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $480.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $535.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $495.96.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of VRTX opened at $502.45 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $474.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $466.95. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $341.90 and a 52-week high of $510.64. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $129.68 billion, a PE ratio of -252.49 and a beta of 0.39.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.67 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the business’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 directly owns 4,435 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,217,500. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were 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 owns 9,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,987,006. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vertex Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Norden Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 61.3% during the first quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 992 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $415,000 after buying an additional 377 shares in the last quarter. Choreo LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter worth $205,000. Quent Capital LLC increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 33.0% in the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 399 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $167,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.2% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,325 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $554,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 714.3% during the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 228 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.