Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Given Buy Rating at HC Wainwright

HC Wainwright reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) in a research note published on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. HC Wainwright currently has a $462.00 target price on the pharmaceutical company’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on VRTX. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an outperform rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an overweight rating and issued a $440.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $498.00 to $466.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an in-line rating to an outperform rating and set a $438.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $432.18.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $410.24 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $408.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $400.75. The company has a market cap of $106.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.53, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 3.78, a current ratio of 3.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $320.01 and a 52 week high of $448.40.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 6th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.66 by $1.10. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 36.68% and a return on equity of 21.91%. The business had revenue of $2.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.67 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 14.95 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, COO Stuart A. Arbuckle sold 4,295 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total value of $1,804,930.80. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 75,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,819,732.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, COO Stuart A. Arbuckle sold 4,295 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total transaction of $1,804,930.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 75,718 shares in the company, valued at $31,819,732.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Amit Sachdev sold 3,222 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total transaction of $1,354,013.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 74,364 shares in the company, valued at $31,250,727.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 12,381 shares of company stock valued at $5,203,249. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 65.3% during the third quarter. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC now owns 2,645 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $920,000 after buying an additional 1,045 shares in the last quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,073 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $6,133,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares during the period. Machina Capital S.A.S. acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth $816,000. Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.2% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,870,101 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $998,050,000 after purchasing an additional 89,217 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.4% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 29,897 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $12,497,000 after purchasing an additional 3,999 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

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.