Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Raised to Strong-Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Friday.

VRTX has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $390.00 to $438.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Maxim Group cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $446.00 to $472.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $424.62.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.2 %

VRTX stock opened at $397.36 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $316.43 and a 52 week high of $448.40. The company has a market cap of $102.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.61, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a quick ratio of 3.78, a current ratio of 3.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $415.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $396.46.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.85 by $0.35. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 21.91% and a net margin of 36.68%. The company had revenue of $2.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.33 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 14.95 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, COO Stuart A. Arbuckle sold 4,295 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total value of $1,804,930.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 75,718 shares in the company, valued at $31,819,732.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Kristen Ambrose sold 1,374 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total transaction of $577,409.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,676 shares in the company, valued at $4,066,242.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Stuart A. Arbuckle sold 4,295 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total value of $1,804,930.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 75,718 shares in the company, valued at $31,819,732.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,381 shares of company stock worth $5,203,249 over the last quarter. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VRTX. LSV Asset Management raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 206.3% during the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 4,751 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,240,000 after purchasing an additional 3,200 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 9.6% during the 1st quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 6,737 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,759,000 after purchasing an additional 590 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 69.4% in the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 6,622 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,728,000 after buying an additional 2,713 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 28.4% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 44,090 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $11,756,000 after buying an additional 9,761 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.0% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 14,114 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,683,000 after buying an additional 544 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, a biotechnology company, engages in developing and commercializing therapies for treating cystic fibrosis (CF). It markets TRIKAFTA/KAFTRIO for people with CF with at least one F508del mutation for 2 years of age or older; SYMDEKO/SYMKEVI for people with CF for 6 years of age or older; ORKAMBI for CF patients 1 year or older; and KALYDECO for the treatment of patients with 1 year or older who have CF with ivacaftor.