JPMorgan Chase & Co. Increases Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Price Target to $510.00

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) had its price target hoisted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $505.00 to $510.00 in a report published on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the pharmaceutical company’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Evercore ISI upgraded 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. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $480.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $402.00 to $455.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $558.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $485.91.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $465.96 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $120.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.24 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $481.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $440.75. The company has a current ratio of 2.52, a quick ratio of 2.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $340.83 and a 12-month high of $510.64.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported ($12.83) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.66 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.53 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -1.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 2,350 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $439.11, for a total value of $1,031,908.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 53,523 shares in the company, valued at $23,502,484.53. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Reshma Kewalramani sold 1,565 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 121,374 shares in the company, valued at $55,467,918. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 2,350 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $439.11, for a total transaction of $1,031,908.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 53,523 shares in the company, valued at $23,502,484.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 55,703 shares of company stock valued at $26,615,855 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.3% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,237,877,000. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 61.0% during 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 raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.2% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,782,374 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,999,080,000 after buying an additional 837,461 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth 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.