Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Given New $567.00 Price Target at Bank of America

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) had its price objective increased by Bank of America from $555.00 to $567.00 in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the pharmaceutical company’s stock. Bank of America‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 16.97% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. BMO Capital Markets set a $545.00 target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, January 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price target for the company from $408.00 to $424.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $433.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $509.17.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $484.74 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $124.48 billion, a P/E ratio of -220.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $478.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $463.67. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $377.85 and a twelve month high of $519.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.69.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $1,615,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at $13,256,000. This represents a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total value of $111,034.64. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 67,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,805,286.70. This represents a 0.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,315 shares of company stock valued at $2,121,012. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of VRTX. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 28,325,695 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $11,406,667,000 after acquiring an additional 1,514,993 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,258,288 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $9,366,113,000 after purchasing an additional 98,654 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,816,249 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,495,501,000 after purchasing an additional 90,173 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,428,951 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,199,713,000 after buying an additional 1,426,746 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.3% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,916,084 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,382,407,000 after buying an additional 1,117,214 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.