Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Share Price Crosses Above 50 Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) crossed above its 50 day moving average during trading on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $523.08 and traded as high as $534.94. Vertex Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $529.69, with a volume of 1,282,431 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRTX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $615.00 to $617.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $570.00 to $576.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $665.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $525.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $436.00 to $442.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $579.81.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average is $523.21 and its 200-day moving average is $479.47. The company has a market capitalization of $141.85 billion, a PE ratio of 32.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.28.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.73 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.74 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $3.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.23 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.09% and a net margin of 35.00%. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.52 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of VRTX. Third View Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.8% in the third quarter. Third View Private Wealth LLC now owns 18,009 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $9,415,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 20,080.0% during the 3rd quarter. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,018 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,055,000 after purchasing an additional 2,008 shares during the period. Associated Banc Corp purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth $3,117,000. Putney Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC now owns 468 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $245,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. Finally, Factory Mutual Insurance Co. bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at $2,398,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

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 applies expertise in the science of human disease to discover therapies that address significant unmet medical needs.

Vertex is best known for its cystic fibrosis portfolio, which includes Kalydeco, Orkambi, Symdeko/Symkevi, and Trikafta/Kaftrio. These medicines target the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis for patients with specific mutations in the CFTR gene.