Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Leerink Partnrs

Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Thursday morning,Zacks.com reports. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for Vertex Pharmaceuticals’ Q4 2025 earnings at $4.67 EPS.

Several other research firms have also commented on VRTX. Guggenheim dropped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $558.00 to $546.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $494.00 to $455.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $442.00 to $438.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $424.00 to $411.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $430.00 to $405.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $493.81.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $381.87 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $97.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.30 and a beta of 0.44. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $407.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $447.31. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $362.50 and a 52-week high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $2.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.91% and a net margin of 31.86%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($12.83) earnings per share. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director Bruce I. Sachs bought 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $389.68 per share, with a total value of $1,948,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 45,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,535,600. This represents a 12.50% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter valued at about $2,933,000. Aries Wealth Management purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter valued at about $293,000. New England Research & Management Inc. purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at about $472,000. Paladin Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at about $552,000. Finally, Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.8% in the second quarter. Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 8,003 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,563,000 after purchasing an additional 1,430 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

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.