Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Price Target Increased to $555.00 by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) had its target price lifted by Wells Fargo & Company from $540.00 to $555.00 in a research report report published on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the pharmaceutical company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on VRTX. Argus upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $465.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $445.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. StockNews.com raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Evercore ISI raised 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 research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a sell rating and issued a $371.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $448.61.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $472.51 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $121.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.66, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.41. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $441.82 and its 200 day moving average is $425.06. The company has a quick ratio of 3.29, a current ratio of 3.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $335.82 and a 52-week high of $486.42.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.66 by $1.10. The company had revenue of $2.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.58 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 39.46% and a return on equity of 23.08%. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.67 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 15.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 2,350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $439.11, for a total value of $1,031,908.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 53,523 shares in the company, valued at $23,502,484.53. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 2,350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $439.11, for a total value of $1,031,908.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 53,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,502,484.53. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 7,073 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $448.00, for a total transaction of $3,168,704.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 40,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,920,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 26,086 shares of company stock worth $11,983,266 in the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Annapolis Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 97.1% during the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 67 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.