Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Price Target Raised to $408.00

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) had its price target upped by Royal Bank of Canada from $407.00 to $408.00 in a research note released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a sector perform rating on the pharmaceutical company’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on VRTX. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $408.00 to $424.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Citigroup started coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $575.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $503.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $460.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $435.00 to $467.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $505.61.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 1.8 %

VRTX stock opened at $480.33 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.69. The company has a market capitalization of $123.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -218.33, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.41. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $377.85 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $435.64 and a 200-day moving average of $460.65.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 4.86%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 15.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 310 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.83, for a total value of $142,547.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 64,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,438,776.43. The trade was a 0.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. Whittier Trust Co. grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,533 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $713,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 11.3% during the third quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 849 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $395,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at approximately $805,000. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Finally, BLB&B Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.4% during the third quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC now owns 527 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $245,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.