Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Canaccord Genuity Group Analyst Says

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) had its price target increased by Canaccord Genuity Group from $361.00 to $408.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “sell” rating on the pharmaceutical company’s stock. Canaccord Genuity Group’s price objective would suggest a potential downside of 18.80% from the stock’s current price.

VRTX has been the subject of several other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $510.00 to $503.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Raymond James reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $535.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $495.96.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX opened at $502.45 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.52, a quick ratio of 2.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $341.90 and a 12 month high of $510.64. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $474.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $466.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $129.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -252.49 and a beta of 0.39.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chairman now owns 9,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,987,006. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 sale, the director now directly owns 4,435 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,217,500. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chairman now directly owns 9,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,987,006. The trade was 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.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 25,567,184 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $10,687,339,000 after buying an additional 3,761,414 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,676,518 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $9,479,011,000 after purchasing an additional 394,338 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 61.0% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,743,882 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,401,000,000 after purchasing an additional 2,176,218 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 10.4% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,584,315 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,080,296,000 after buying an additional 244,336 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,422,677 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,135,556,000 after acquiring an additional 29,104 shares during the period. 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.