Royal Bank of Canada Increases Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Price Target to $451.00

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) had its price objective upped by Royal Bank of Canada from $437.00 to $451.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “sector perform” rating on the pharmaceutical company’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price target indicates a potential downside of 9.09% from the company’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on VRTX. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $510.00 to $503.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $550.00 target price (up previously from $508.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $371.00 to $376.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $477.00 to $562.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $493.38.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX traded up $23.31 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $496.11. 649,911 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,164,601. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $474.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $466.02. 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 twelve month low of $341.90 and a twelve month high of $510.64. The company has a market capitalization of $128.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -243.30 and a beta of 0.39.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.69 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.45% and a negative net margin of 4.74%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.67 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total transaction of $1,888,216.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 9,994 shares in the company, valued at $4,987,006. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the company’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 transaction of $323,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,435 shares in the company, valued at $2,217,500. This 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 this link. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 6,710 shares of company stock worth $3,298,206 over the last quarter. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Stephens Consulting LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Founders Capital Management lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 50.0% during the 2nd quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 75 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by 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.