Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Stock Rating Reaffirmed by Oppenheimer

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reaffirmed by research analysts at Oppenheimer in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $500.00 price objective on the pharmaceutical company’s stock. Oppenheimer’s price target suggests a potential upside of 26.85% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on VRTX. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, February 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $515.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. HC Wainwright raised their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $457.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $397.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $332.00 to $379.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $424.62.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $394.17 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $415.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $396.78. The firm has a market cap of $101.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.38, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.35. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $316.43 and a 1 year high of $448.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 3.78 and a current ratio of 3.99.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.85 by $0.35. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 21.91% and a net margin of 36.68%. The company had revenue of $2.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.33 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 14.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Kristen Ambrose sold 1,374 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total transaction of $577,409.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,676 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,066,242.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Amit Sachdev sold 3,222 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total value of $1,354,013.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,250,727.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Kristen Ambrose sold 1,374 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total transaction of $577,409.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,066,242.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,381 shares of company stock worth $5,203,249 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 97.1% during the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 67 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.