Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Given New $476.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) had its price target increased by Morgan Stanley from $473.00 to $476.00 in a research report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the pharmaceutical company’s stock.

VRTX has been the subject of several other research reports. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $550.00 price target (up previously from $508.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $558.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $472.00 to $509.00 in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $494.63.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $499.88 on Tuesday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $341.90 and a 12 month high of $510.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 2.26 and a current ratio of 2.52. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $474.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $466.76.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.77. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 1.88% and a negative net margin of 4.52%. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.67 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -2.04 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $323,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,435 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,217,500. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $323,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,435 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,217,500. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total value of $1,888,216.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 9,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,987,006. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of VRTX. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 18.9% in the 3rd quarter. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd now owns 3,369 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,567,000 after purchasing an additional 535 shares in the last quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 1,257 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $585,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 985.1% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 6,641 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,089,000 after purchasing an additional 6,029 shares in the last quarter. MQS Management LLC raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. MQS Management LLC now owns 1,358 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $632,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Souders Financial Advisors raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Souders Financial Advisors now owns 1,466 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $682,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. 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.