HC Wainwright Has Lowered Expectations for Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Stock Price

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) had its target price decreased by HC Wainwright from $550.00 to $478.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. HC Wainwright currently has a buy rating on the pharmaceutical company’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Leerink Partnrs lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $442.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $497.10.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 2.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $375.63 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $452.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $465.93. The firm has a market cap of $96.46 billion, a PE ratio of 26.85 and a beta of 0.44. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $372.35 and a 12-month high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $2.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 23.91%. The business’s revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($12.83) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Bruce I. Sachs purchased 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $389.68 per share, with a total value of $1,948,400.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 45,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,535,600. This trade represents a 12.50% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 60,572.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,425,070 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,175,722,000 after purchasing an additional 2,421,073 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 28,325,695 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $11,406,667,000 after purchasing an additional 1,514,993 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,428,951 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,199,713,000 after purchasing an additional 1,426,746 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 72.5% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,917,227 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,414,331,000 after purchasing an additional 1,226,527 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.5% during the second quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 6,151,505 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,738,650,000 after purchasing an additional 1,089,063 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is 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.