Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Price Target Lowered to $466.00 at UBS Group

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) had its price target lowered by equities research analysts at UBS Group from $498.00 to $466.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the pharmaceutical company’s stock. UBS Group’s price target indicates a potential upside of 18.54% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Maxim Group downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Evercore ISI upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $438.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $332.00 to $379.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $429.45.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $393.10 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 3.99, a quick ratio of 3.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $101.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.35. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $414.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $396.76. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $316.43 and a 12 month high of $448.40.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.20 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $2.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.33 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 15.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Amit Sachdev sold 3,222 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total transaction of $1,354,013.28. Following the transaction, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, COO Stuart A. Arbuckle sold 4,295 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total transaction of $1,804,930.80. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 75,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,819,732.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Amit Sachdev sold 3,222 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,364 shares in the company, valued at $31,250,727.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,381 shares of company stock valued at $5,203,249 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 97.1% in the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 67 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. 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.