Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-nine brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twenty-three have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $554.3043.

Several research analysts recently commented on VRTX shares. Evercore increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $475.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Truist Financial raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. HC Wainwright upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $591.00 to $641.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $548.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $411.00 to $441.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.8%

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $446.54 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $362.50 and a 1-year high of $510.77. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $469.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $443.30. The company has a market cap of $113.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.31.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The pharmaceutical company reported $5.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $3.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.18 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 24.30% and a net margin of 32.94%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.98 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 4,910 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.65, for a total value of $2,394,361.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 17,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,562,646.35. This represents a 21.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,329 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $481.79, for a total transaction of $1,122,088.91. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 35,405 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,057,774.95. This trade represents a 6.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 93,485 shares of company stock worth $43,967,586 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Purpose Unlimited Inc. bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $379,000. Cornerstone Planning LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth about $204,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 45.7% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 135,232 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $61,309,000 after buying an additional 42,418 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 37.8% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 1,972 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $894,000 after buying an additional 541 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meadowbrook Advisors Group LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $522,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc is a Boston-based biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of therapies for serious diseases. Founded in 1989, Vertex built its reputation on research-driven drug development and is best known for its work in cystic fibrosis (CF), where its portfolio of small-molecule CFTR modulators transformed standards of care for many people with the disease. The company operates research and development, manufacturing and commercial organizations and serves patients and healthcare systems in multiple international markets.

Vertex’s marketed products center on CFTR modulators that target the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis rather than just treating symptoms.