Morgan Stanley Increases Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Price Target to $474.00

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) had its price target increased by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $462.00 to $474.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the pharmaceutical company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price indicates a potential upside of 2.57% from the stock’s previous close.

VRTX has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Barclays lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $472.00 to $509.00 in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $535.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. HC Wainwright raised their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, June 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $545.00 price target for the company. Finally, Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $558.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $487.23.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $462.14 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $478.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $455.02. The company has a market cap of $119.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.99 and a beta of 0.40. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $341.85 and a 12-month high of $510.64. The company has a quick ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported ($12.83) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.66 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.53 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the business’s 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 directly owns 4,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,217,500. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,280 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 27,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,557,311.46. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $323,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,217,500. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 31,767 shares of company stock valued at $15,768,284. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vertex Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital World Investors boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 25,567,184 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $10,687,339,000 after buying an additional 3,761,414 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,676,518 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $9,479,011,000 after purchasing an additional 394,338 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings 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 worth $2,401,000,000 after purchasing an additional 2,176,218 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.2% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,782,374 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,999,080,000 after purchasing an additional 837,461 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 10.4% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,584,315 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,080,296,000 after purchasing an additional 244,336 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.