Royal Bank Of Canada Cuts Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Price Target to $405.00

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) had its price target decreased by Royal Bank Of Canada from $430.00 to $405.00 in a research note published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. Royal Bank Of Canada currently has a sector perform rating on the pharmaceutical company’s stock.

VRTX has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $515.00 to $517.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Leerink Partnrs downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Leerink Partners reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $503.00 target price (down from $550.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $455.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $497.10.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 2.6%

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $375.63 on Tuesday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $372.35 and a twelve month high of $519.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $96.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.85 and a beta of 0.44. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $452.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $465.93.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Bruce I. Sachs purchased 5,000 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $389.68 per share, for a total transaction of $1,948,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 45,000 shares in the company, valued at $17,535,600. This represents a 12.50% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. STF Management LP boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. STF Management LP now owns 4,095 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,823,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.3% in the second quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 9,016 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,014,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Nwam LLC grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.7% in the second quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 4,776 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,241,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Keynote Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Keynote Financial Services LLC now owns 1,145 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $510,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,905,000. 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.