Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) PT Lowered to $425.00

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) had its price objective reduced by Royal Bank of Canada from $431.00 to $425.00 in a research report report published on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a sector perform rating on the pharmaceutical company’s stock.

VRTX has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Truist Financial reissued a buy rating and set a $550.00 price objective (up previously from $508.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Argus upped 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. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an overweight rating and set a $480.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $558.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $486.95.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

VRTX stock opened at $455.31 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 2.52 and a quick ratio of 2.26. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $341.90 and a 1 year high of $510.64. The company has a market cap of $117.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.55 and a beta of 0.40. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $476.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $455.91.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released 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). The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.66 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.74% and a negative return on equity of 2.45%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.53 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $323,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,217,500. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $323,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,217,500. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,280 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.34, for a total transaction of $1,111,135.20. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 27,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,557,311.46. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 31,767 shares of company stock valued at $15,768,284. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quent Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 27.7% during the third quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 540 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $251,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 52,578 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $24,453,000 after acquiring an additional 3,404 shares in the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.1% during the third quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 8,703 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,048,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 161.7% in the third quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 2,601 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,210,000 after purchasing an additional 1,607 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&R Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 7.7% during the third quarter. M&R Capital Management Inc. now owns 673 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $313,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. 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.