JPMorgan Chase & Co. Increases Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Price Target to $515.00

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) had its price objective lifted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $512.00 to $515.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the pharmaceutical company’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Leerink Partners reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $503.00 target price (down from $550.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $555.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $408.00 to $424.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $408.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $515.04.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 10.0 %

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $450.03 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $115.69 billion, a P/E ratio of -204.56, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.51. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $491.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $466.80. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $377.85 and a 1 year high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.23). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.76 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $1,615,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,256,000. This represents a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total value of $111,034.64. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 67,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,805,286.70. The trade was a 0.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012 in the last ninety days. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quent Capital LLC lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.5% in the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 513 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $249,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 30.3% in the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 99 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the period. Advisor OS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 543 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $263,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 2,236 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $900,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Finally, Spinnaker Trust grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Spinnaker Trust now owns 1,235 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $497,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.