Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-six brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $486.36.

VRTX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Argus lifted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $465.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $402.00 to $455.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $550.00 price target (up from $508.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, HC Wainwright upped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th.

Insider Activity

In related news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,280 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.34, for a total value of $1,111,135.20. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 27,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,557,311.46. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,280 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.34, for a total value of $1,111,135.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 27,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,557,311.46. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 5,295 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $508.00, for a total transaction of $2,689,860.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 40,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,320,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 31,767 shares of company stock worth $15,768,284 over the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Annapolis Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Stephens Consulting LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, ICA Group Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

VRTX opened at $462.88 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $119.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.04 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a quick ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $479.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $454.14. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $341.85 and a 52-week high of $510.64.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported ($12.83) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($12.54) by ($0.29). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.74% and a negative return on equity of 2.45%. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.66 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.53 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.