Oppenheimer Raises Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Price Target to $550.00

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) had its target price raised by Oppenheimer from $500.00 to $550.00 in a report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the pharmaceutical company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on VRTX. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. They set a buy rating and a $545.00 price target on the stock. HC Wainwright lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $462.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an in-line rating to an outperform rating and set a $438.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, April 11th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $424.00 to $421.00 and set a sector perform rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $485.91.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $465.96 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 2.52 and a quick ratio of 2.26. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $340.83 and a 12 month high of $510.64. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $481.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $440.75. The company has a market cap of $120.26 billion, a PE ratio of 30.24 and a beta of 0.39.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported ($12.83) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($12.54) by ($0.29). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.45% and a negative net margin of 4.74%. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.66 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.53 earnings per share. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -1.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,280 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $476.75, for a total value of $1,086,990.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 23,259 shares in the company, valued at $11,088,728.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,280 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $476.75, for a total transaction of $1,086,990.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 23,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,088,728.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 2,350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $439.11, for a total transaction of $1,031,908.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 53,523 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,502,484.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 55,703 shares of company stock valued at $26,615,855. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Groesbeck Investment Management Corp NJ grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Groesbeck Investment Management Corp NJ now owns 1,794 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $841,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% during the second quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. now owns 3,586 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,681,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.0% during the second quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,101 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $516,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. RFP Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.0% in the second quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 158 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. now owns 636 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.