Oppenheimer Increases Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Price Target to $550.00

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) had its target price increased by analysts at Oppenheimer from $500.00 to $550.00 in a report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the pharmaceutical company’s stock. Oppenheimer’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 15.06% from the stock’s current price.

VRTX has been the subject of several other research reports. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $558.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $371.00 to $376.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $498.00 to $466.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $402.00 to $455.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $481.36.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

VRTX stock traded down $16.46 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $478.00. The stock had a trading volume of 1,041,639 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,209,589. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $479.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $439.81. The stock has a market cap of $123.35 billion, a PE ratio of 30.95 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 3.29 and a current ratio of 3.50. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $340.68 and a 52-week high of $510.64.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported ($12.83) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($12.54) by ($0.29). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.36% and a negative net margin of 4.74%. The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.66 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.53 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -1.04 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 5,295 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $508.00, for a total value of $2,689,860.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 40,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,320,000. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 2,350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $439.11, for a total transaction of $1,031,908.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 53,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,502,484.53. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 5,295 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $508.00, for a total value of $2,689,860.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 40,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,320,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 53,423 shares of company stock worth $25,528,865. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,805,770 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $8,872,586,000 after acquiring an additional 3,824,103 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,237,877,000. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 2,176,218 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.2% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,782,374 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,999,080,000 after purchasing an additional 837,461 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter valued at $277,317,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.