Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $499.12.

VRTX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Barclays downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $472.00 to $509.00 in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $535.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. UBS Group upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $562.00 to $586.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $467.01 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $346.29 and a twelve month high of $519.88. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $476.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $472.56.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.77. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 1.91% and a negative net margin of 4.52%. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.67 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -1.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $323,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,435 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,217,500. This trade represents a 12.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total transaction of $1,888,216.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 9,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,987,006. This trade represents a 27.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 58 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. 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.