Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Price Target Raised to $486.00 at Scotiabank

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) had its price target hoisted by Scotiabank from $480.00 to $486.00 in a research report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. Scotiabank currently has a sector perform rating on the pharmaceutical company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on VRTX. Raymond James restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $550.00 target price (up previously from $508.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Barclays cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $472.00 to $509.00 in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $535.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $510.00 to $503.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $494.63.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 5.7 %

VRTX opened at $499.88 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 2.52 and a quick ratio of 2.26. The company’s 50 day moving average is $474.73 and its 200 day moving average is $466.76. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $341.90 and a 12-month high of $510.64.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.61 by $0.77. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.69 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.52% and a negative return on equity of 1.88%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.67 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -2.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were 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 trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total transaction of $1,888,216.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 9,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,987,006. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $323,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,217,500. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Norden Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 61.3% during the first quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 992 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $415,000 after purchasing an additional 377 shares during the period. Choreo LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter valued at $205,000. Quent Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 33.0% during the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 399 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $167,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.2% during the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,325 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $554,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 714.3% during the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 228 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.