Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Price Target Lowered to $540.00 at Oppenheimer

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) had its price target cut by stock analysts at Oppenheimer from $550.00 to $540.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the pharmaceutical company’s stock. Oppenheimer’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 13.45% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also commented on VRTX. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $535.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $431.00 to $425.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $371.00 to $376.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $550.00 target price (up from $508.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $505.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $492.50.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $475.98 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $474.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $463.95. The company has a quick ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The firm has a market cap of $122.85 billion, a PE ratio of -234.47 and a beta of 0.40. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $341.90 and a 12 month high of $510.64.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported ($12.83) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($12.54) by ($0.29). The business had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.66 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.45% and a negative net margin of 4.74%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.53 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -2.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the chairman now directly owns 9,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,987,006. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 9,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,987,006. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,280 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $476.75, for a total transaction of $1,086,990.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 23,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,088,728.25. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 6,710 shares of company stock worth $3,298,206. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth about $27,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth about $29,000. Stephens Consulting LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Founders Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 50.0% in the second quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 75 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. 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.