Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Tuesday morning.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $480.00 to $486.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group raised their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $562.00 to $586.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $550.00 price objective (up from $508.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $541.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $494.63.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $499.88 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $474.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $466.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $129.02 billion, a PE ratio of -246.25 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $341.90 and a 52 week high of $510.64.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.77. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.69 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.45% and a negative net margin of 4.74%. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.67 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total value of $1,888,216.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 9,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,987,006. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $323,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,435 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,217,500. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total value of $1,888,216.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 9,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,987,006. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norden Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 61.3% in the 1st quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 992 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $415,000 after purchasing an additional 377 shares in the last quarter. Choreo LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter valued at about $205,000. Quent Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 33.0% during the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 399 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $167,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,325 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $554,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 714.3% in the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 228 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $95,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

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.