Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-six brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, fifteen have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $506.70.

VRTX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $503.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Canaccord Genuity Group raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their target price for the company from $408.00 to $424.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Oppenheimer cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $433.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $480.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total transaction of $111,034.64. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,805,286.70. The trade was a 0.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $1,615,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,256,000. This trade represents a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,315 shares of company stock valued at $2,121,012 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VRTX. DSG Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,460,000. 111 Capital acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth $1,331,000. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth $58,274,000. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth $3,061,000. Finally, Centaurus Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 1,995 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $803,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $503.20 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $467.89 and its 200-day moving average is $462.69. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $377.85 and a 52-week high of $519.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.69. The company has a market cap of $129.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -228.73, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 4.86%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

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.