Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Earns Buy Rating from Analysts at Citigroup

Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $575.00 price objective on the pharmaceutical company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on VRTX. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $550.00 price target (up previously from $508.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, August 5th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $480.00 to $486.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $480.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $451.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $510.00 to $503.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $499.12.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 3.8 %

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $465.70 on Thursday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $341.90 and a 1 year high of $519.88. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $476.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $471.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $119.93 billion, a P/E ratio of -234.02 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its earnings results 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. The business 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.67 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -1.82 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chairman now directly owns 9,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,987,006. This represents a 27.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now owns 4,435 shares in the company, valued at $2,217,500. This 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 hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VRTX. Quent Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 33.0% in the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 399 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $167,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 2,364 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $988,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. GM Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $224,000. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 14,734 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $6,159,000 after acquiring an additional 470 shares during the period. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 104.5% in the 1st quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 137 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. 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.