Scotiabank Increases Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Price Target to $430.00

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) had its price objective boosted by Scotiabank from $426.00 to $430.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. Scotiabank currently has a sector perform rating on the pharmaceutical company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $361.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $503.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. UBS Group lifted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $562.00 to $586.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $566.00 to $520.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $494.04.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $408.18 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $467.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $474.16. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $377.85 and a 52 week high of $519.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a current ratio of 2.47. The company has a market cap of $105.12 billion, a PE ratio of -205.12 and a beta of 0.36.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.61 by $0.77. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.69 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 1.91% and a negative net margin of 4.52%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.67 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of VRTX. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth $25,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 58 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth about $31,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.