Truist Financial Reiterates Buy Rating for Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Truist Financial reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) in a report issued on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. Truist Financial currently has a $550.00 target price on the pharmaceutical company’s stock, up from their previous target price of $508.00.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Barclays downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $472.00 to $509.00 in a research report on Monday. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. They issued a buy rating and a $545.00 price target for the company. Oppenheimer reissued an outperform rating and issued a $500.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $480.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $402.00 to $455.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $485.91.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.5 %

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock traded down $2.62 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $474.29. 1,626,006 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,220,707. The stock has a market capitalization of $122.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.78 and a beta of 0.39. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $340.68 and a 12 month high of $510.64. The company has a quick ratio of 3.29, a current ratio of 3.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $479.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $440.12.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported ($12.83) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($12.54) by ($0.29). The company had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.66 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.36% and a negative net margin of 4.74%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.53 EPS. Analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -1.04 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CEO Reshma Kewalramani sold 1,565 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $457.00, for a total value of $715,205.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 121,374 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,467,918. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Reshma Kewalramani sold 1,565 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated 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 can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 5,295 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $508.00, for a total value of $2,689,860.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,320,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 53,423 shares of company stock worth $25,528,865. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VRTX. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 97.1% in the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 67 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Baystate Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 49.0% in the fourth quarter. Baystate Wealth Management LLC now owns 76 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during 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.