Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) PT Raised to $558.00

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) had its target price raised by Guggenheim from $450.00 to $558.00 in a report published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. Guggenheim currently has a buy rating on the pharmaceutical company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on VRTX. HC Wainwright boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $462.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $498.00 to $466.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective 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. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an in-line rating to an outperform rating and set a $438.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $485.91.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 3.5 %

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $476.91 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $123.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.95 and a beta of 0.39. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $479.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $439.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 3.50 and a quick ratio of 3.29. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $340.68 and a one year high of $510.64.

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

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, CEO Reshma Kewalramani sold 1,565 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $457.00, for a total value of $715,205.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 121,374 shares in the company, valued at $55,467,918. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 5,295 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $508.00, for a total transaction of $2,689,860.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 40,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,320,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Reshma Kewalramani sold 1,565 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $457.00, for a total value of $715,205.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 121,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $55,467,918. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 53,423 shares of company stock worth $25,528,865. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of VRTX. Telos Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,073 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $6,133,000 after buying an additional 237 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 11.1% during the first quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 2,368 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $990,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.4% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 29,897 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $12,497,000 after purchasing an additional 3,999 shares during the last quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 216.3% in the fourth quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 4,830 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,965,000 after purchasing an additional 3,303 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greenwood Capital Associates LLC lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 11.3% during the fourth quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC now owns 25,345 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $10,313,000 after purchasing an additional 2,576 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by 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.