Scotiabank Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Stock

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) had its price target boosted by Scotiabank from $430.00 to $433.00 in a report published on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a sector perform rating on the pharmaceutical company’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $533.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $473.00 to $476.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $451.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $490.00 to $494.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $502.58.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX opened at $461.68 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 2.20. The business has a 50-day moving average of $434.34 and a 200 day moving average of $463.31. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $377.85 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.69 billion. During the same period in the previous 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. Analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -1.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. Mutual Advisors LLC lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% during the third quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 3,710 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,751,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 804 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $374,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 410 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $191,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.8% during the third quarter. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 892 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $415,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC grew 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 during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.