Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Now Covered by Analysts at Leerink Partners

Stock analysts at Leerink Partners initiated coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) in a note issued to investors on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage set an “outperform” rating and a $594.00 price target on the pharmaceutical company’s stock. Leerink Partners’ target price would suggest a potential upside of 17.18% from the stock’s previous close.

VRTX has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $590.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $500.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $525.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $560.00 price objective (up from $515.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, September 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $573.83.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.3%

VRTX stock traded down $1.41 during trading on Monday, hitting $506.93. 83,080 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,393,085. The firm has a market capitalization of $128.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.51, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.32. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $374.17 and a 1 year high of $560.25. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $511.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $474.07.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.74 by ($0.01). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.00% and a return on equity of 23.09%. The company had revenue of $3.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.23 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.52 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 16.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Duncan McKechnie sold 1,541 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $519.00, for a total transaction of $799,779.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 11,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,709,519. This represents a 12.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $524.99, for a total transaction of $787,485.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 45,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,793,071.79. This trade represents a 3.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 3,637 shares of company stock valued at $1,874,834 in the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Community Financial Services Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 103.7% in the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 55 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Pingora Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Finally, City Holding Co. increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 128.1% in the 2nd quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 73 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated is a global biotechnology company focused on developing and commercializing medicines for serious diseases. Founded in 1989 and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, the company combines research in human genetics with drug discovery and development.

Vertex is best known for its cystic fibrosis portfolio, which includes CFTR modulator therapies such as Kalydeco, Orkambi, Symdeko and the combination marketed as Trikafta in the United States and Kaftrio in other markets.