Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Tuesday.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on VRTX. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $451.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of America dropped their target price 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. Barclays downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $472.00 to $509.00 in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $480.00 to $486.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $495.96.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of VRTX opened at $516.74 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $133.08 billion, a P/E ratio of -259.67 and a beta of 0.39. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $341.90 and a 12-month high of $519.88. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $475.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $468.01. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 2.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.77. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.69 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.52% and a negative return on equity of 1.91%. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.67 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -2.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the business’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 value of $323,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,435 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,217,500. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the chairman now owns 9,994 shares in the company, valued at $4,987,006. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the company’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 value of $323,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,217,500. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth $25,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at $27,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at $29,000. Stephens Consulting LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Founders Capital Management grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 50.0% in the second quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 75 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.