Brokerages Set Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) PT at $506.70

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-six research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, fifteen have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $506.70.

A number of analysts have weighed in on VRTX shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $500.00 to $550.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price target for the company from $408.00 to $424.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $533.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Scotiabank upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $433.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $1,615,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,256,000. This represents a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 310 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.83, for a total value of $142,547.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 64,021 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,438,776.43. This trade represents a 0.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,315 shares of company stock valued at $2,121,012 over the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% during 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 last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

VRTX opened at $512.52 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $131.61 billion, a PE ratio of -232.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $377.85 and a 1 year high of $519.88. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $464.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $462.31.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

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.