Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Buy Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Tuesday morning.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on VRTX. Raymond James reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $473.00 to $476.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $510.00 to $503.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $562.00 to $586.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, October 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $494.63.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 5.7 %

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $499.88 on Tuesday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $341.90 and a twelve month high of $510.64. The stock has a market cap of $129.02 billion, a P/E ratio of -246.25 and a beta of 0.39. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $474.73 and a 200 day moving average of $466.76. The company has a current ratio of 2.52, a quick ratio of 2.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.77. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.74% and a negative return on equity of 2.45%. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.67 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -2.04 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Trading of Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 25,567,184 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $10,687,339,000 after acquiring an additional 3,761,414 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 61.0% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,743,882 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,401,000,000 after purchasing an additional 2,176,218 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter valued at approximately $277,317,000. AMF Tjanstepension AB acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth $257,655,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,676,518 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $9,479,011,000 after buying an additional 394,338 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is currently 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.