Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.02 EPS

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The pharmaceutical company reported $5.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by ($0.02), FiscalAI reports. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.51% and a net margin of 31.35%.The firm had revenue of $3.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.18 billion.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX traded up $3.78 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $465.02. The stock had a trading volume of 1,797,044 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,541,375. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $459.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $427.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $117.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.79 and a beta of 0.30. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $362.50 and a 1-year high of $519.68.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 63,781 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $449.20, for a total value of $28,650,425.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 24,026 shares in the company, valued at $10,792,479.20. This trade represents a 72.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Kristen Ambrose sold 1,376 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.43, for a total value of $633,551.68. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 10,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,662,774.61. This represents a 11.96% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 146,793 shares of company stock valued at $65,824,039. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.7% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,096,797 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $821,189,000 after purchasing an additional 112,751 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 20.7% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 945,660 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $428,726,000 after buying an additional 162,074 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 13.4% during the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 544,823 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $213,374,000 after buying an additional 64,513 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 535,685 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $209,796,000 after buying an additional 35,908 shares during the period. Finally, Bellevue Group AG grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 505,805 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $198,093,000 after acquiring an additional 64,195 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on VRTX. UBS Group boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $545.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Morgan Stanley set a $564.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, December 5th. Barclays upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $414.00 to $606.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $522.68.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.