Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Scotiabank

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) was upgraded by Scotiabank to a “strong-buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

VRTX has been the topic of a number of other reports. Raymond James Financial started coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $510.00 to $475.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $408.00 to $414.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, HC Wainwright decreased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $478.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $491.95.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.1%

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $434.52 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $407.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $428.25. The stock has a market cap of $110.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.06 and a beta of 0.36. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $362.50 and a twelve month high of $519.68.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.58 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $3.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.91% and a net margin of 31.86%.The business’s revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.38 earnings per share. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Vertex Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth $1,593,974,000. Capital International Investors grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 77.9% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,689,059 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,836,550,000 after acquiring an additional 2,053,156 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake 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 worth $1,414,331,000 after acquiring an additional 1,226,527 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.5% in the second quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 6,151,505 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,738,650,000 after acquiring an additional 1,089,063 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $484,053,000. 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.