Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Cut to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report published on Thursday.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on VRTX. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $361.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $473.00 to $476.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $541.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $535.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $504.38.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of VRTX opened at $450.97 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $116.14 billion, a PE ratio of -226.62 and a beta of 0.39. The company’s fifty day moving average is $474.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $473.36. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $346.29 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88. The company has a quick ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.61 by $0.77. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.52% and a negative return on equity of 1.91%. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.67 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chairman now directly owns 9,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,987,006. The trade was a 27.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $323,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,217,500. This represents a 12.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,445 shares of company stock valued at $2,218,394 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth $25,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth $27,000. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 58 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.