Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Raised to Strong-Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Tuesday.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Guggenheim increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $445.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Argus upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $465.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $424.00 to $421.00 and set a sector perform rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a buy rating and set a $462.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $456.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $448.61.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $470.28 on Tuesday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $335.82 and a 1 year high of $486.42. The business has a 50-day moving average of $449.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $427.99. The company has a market capitalization of $121.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 3.50 and a quick ratio of 3.29.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.66 by $1.10. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.08% and a net margin of 39.46%. The company had revenue of $2.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.67 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 15.08 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, CEO Reshma Kewalramani sold 1,565 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $457.00, for a total transaction of $715,205.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 121,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $55,467,918. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO Reshma Kewalramani sold 1,565 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $457.00, for a total transaction of $715,205.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 121,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $55,467,918. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Charles F. Wagner, Jr. sold 3,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $454.79, for a total value of $1,478,067.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 50,387 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,915,503.73. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 28,366 shares of company stock valued at $13,058,787 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital World Investors grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,805,770 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $8,872,586,000 after buying an additional 3,824,103 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,237,877,000. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 61.0% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,743,882 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,401,000,000 after purchasing an additional 2,176,218 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.2% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,782,374 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,999,080,000 after purchasing an additional 837,461 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter valued at about $277,317,000. 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.