Guggenheim Raises Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Price Target to $450.00

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) had its price objective hoisted by Guggenheim from $445.00 to $450.00 in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the pharmaceutical company’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the company. William Blair reiterated an outperform rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a sell rating and issued a $371.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an overweight rating and issued a $440.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. They issued an outperform rating and a $515.00 price objective for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $429.45.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $394.28 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $413.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $397.73. The company has a quick ratio of 3.78, a current ratio of 3.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $316.43 and a 12-month high of $448.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.35.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.33 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 14.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CAO Kristen Ambrose sold 1,374 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total value 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 through the SEC website. In related news, CAO Kristen Ambrose sold 1,374 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total value 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 through the SEC website. Also, EVP Amit Sachdev sold 3,222 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 74,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,250,727.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 12,381 shares of company stock worth $5,203,249. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 20,227 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $7,947,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 922.2% in the 1st quarter. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC now owns 21,252 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $8,884,000 after acquiring an additional 19,173 shares in the last quarter. Veracity Capital LLC lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 14.3% in the 1st quarter. Veracity Capital LLC now owns 1,416 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $592,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC now owns 4,835 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,021,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Guys Formula LLC lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. Retirement Guys Formula LLC now owns 2,922 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,221,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

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.