Vertex Pharmaceuticals’ (VRTX) Overweight Rating Reaffirmed at Cantor Fitzgerald

Cantor Fitzgerald restated their overweight rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) in a report published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Cantor Fitzgerald currently has a $480.00 price objective on the pharmaceutical company’s stock.

VRTX has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $371.00 to $376.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $550.00 price target (up from $508.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, August 5th. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $495.96.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 2.8 %

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $516.74 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 2.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $341.90 and a twelve month high of $519.88. The company has a market cap of $133.08 billion, a PE ratio of -259.67 and a beta of 0.39. The company’s 50 day moving average is $475.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $468.01.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.77. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 1.91% and a negative net margin of 4.52%. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.67 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -2.04 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 4,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,217,500. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the 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 transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total value of $1,888,216.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 9,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,987,006. This trade represents 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 owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 25,567,184 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $10,687,339,000 after acquiring an additional 3,761,414 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in shares of 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 grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 18.1% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,550,386 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,581,373,000 after purchasing an additional 851,054 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter valued at $277,317,000. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at $257,655,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently 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.