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

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-one ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $494.04.

Several equities analysts recently commented on VRTX shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price target 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. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $451.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $361.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $522.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $509.00 to $418.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Edgewood Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 7,876.3% in the third quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 1,546,370 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $719,186,000 after acquiring an additional 1,526,983 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 18.1% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,550,386 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,581,373,000 after purchasing an additional 851,054 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,798,870 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,231,858,000 after purchasing an additional 704,421 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 74,015.5% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 324,626 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $150,977,000 after purchasing an additional 324,188 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth $105,282,000. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of VRTX opened at $402.70 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $103.71 billion, a P/E ratio of -202.36 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a current ratio of 2.47. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $377.85 and a 52 week high of $519.88. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $459.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $471.55.

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

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.