Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Stock Price Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) shares passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Friday. The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $477.12 and traded as high as $509.50. Vertex Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $504.73, with a volume of 939,520 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $665.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $560.00 price objective (up from $515.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, September 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $436.00 to $442.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $560.00 to $565.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Leerink Partners began coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, September 21st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $594.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $575.13.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.4%

The company has a market capitalization of $128.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.28. The business’s 50-day moving average is $519.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $477.12.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.74 by ($0.01). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.09% and a net margin of 35.00%.The firm had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.52 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.68 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 8.9% in the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 21,665 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $10,762,000 after purchasing an additional 1,765 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,871,459 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,896,910,000 after buying an additional 141,320 shares during the last quarter. Capstone Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at about $215,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 12.3% during the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 16,729 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $8,310,000 after buying an additional 1,831 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.9% in the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 95,685 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $47,530,000 after acquiring an additional 3,604 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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 molecular biology, genetics and drug discovery to address conditions with significant unmet medical needs.

Vertex is best known for its portfolio of cystic fibrosis treatments, including Kalydeco, Orkambi, Symdeko/Symkevi and Trikafta/Kaftrio. These medicines target the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis by addressing defects in the CFTR protein.