Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Price Target Raised to $442.00

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) had its price objective upped by Canaccord Genuity Group from $436.00 to $442.00 in a report issued on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have a hold rating on the pharmaceutical company’s stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $607.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $590.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 28th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $577.00 to $572.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $563.50.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.2%

VRTX opened at $484.03 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $122.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.30. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $362.50 and a twelve month high of $533.67. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $473.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $461.27.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.73 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.74 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.23 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.00% and a return on equity of 23.09%. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.52 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 17.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 6,988 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $3,144,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 26,088 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,739,600. This trade represents a 21.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 1,500 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $524.99, for a total value of $787,485.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 45,321 shares in the company, valued at $23,793,071.79. The trade was a 3.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 17,452 shares of company stock valued at $8,103,997 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $784,000. Cura Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at $399,000. Simplicity Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth $1,387,000. Baxter Bros Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth $716,000. Finally, Trivium Point Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth $1,092,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc is a Boston-based biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of therapies for serious diseases. Founded in 1989, Vertex built its reputation on research-driven drug development and is best known for its work in cystic fibrosis (CF), where its portfolio of small-molecule CFTR modulators transformed standards of care for many people with the disease. The company operates research and development, manufacturing and commercial organizations and serves patients and healthcare systems in multiple international markets.

Vertex’s marketed products center on CFTR modulators that target the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis rather than just treating symptoms.