Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) PT Lowered to $541.00 at Bank of America

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) had its price objective trimmed by Bank of America from $550.00 to $541.00 in a research report released on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the pharmaceutical company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on VRTX. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $371.00 to $376.00 and gave the stock a sell rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, June 27th. They set a buy rating and a $545.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $540.00 to $555.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $505.00 to $510.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $489.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.6 %

VRTX stock opened at $484.82 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $473.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $458.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 2.26 and a current ratio of 2.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $125.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.46 and a beta of 0.40. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $341.90 and a one year high of $510.64.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported ($12.83) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($12.54) by ($0.29). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.74% and a negative return on equity of 2.45%. The business had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.66 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.53 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -2.14 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Reshma Kewalramani sold 15,202 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $497.00, for a total value of $7,555,394.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 106,172 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,767,484. This trade 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 accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Reshma Kewalramani sold 15,202 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $497.00, for a total transaction of $7,555,394.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 106,172 shares in the company, valued at $52,767,484. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 4,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,217,500. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 29,487 shares of company stock worth $14,657,149. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 25,567,184 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $10,687,339,000 after acquiring an additional 3,761,414 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 61.0% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,743,882 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,401,000,000 after buying an additional 2,176,218 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.2% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,782,374 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,999,080,000 after purchasing an additional 837,461 shares during the period. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter valued at $277,317,000. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at about $257,655,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.