Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at Citigroup

Citigroup upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

VRTX has been the topic of several other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $510.00 to $503.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Bank of America cut their price objective 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 restated a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, October 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $480.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $499.12.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 3.8 %

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $465.70 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm has a market cap of $119.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -235.63 and a beta of 0.39. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $341.90 and a twelve month high of $519.88. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $476.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $470.57.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.61 by $0.77. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 1.91% 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 company posted $3.67 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -1.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chairman now owns 9,994 shares in the company, valued at $4,987,006. This trade represents a 27.46 % 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 stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value 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 12.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth $25,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 58 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.