Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Upgraded at Royal Bank Of Canada

Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) from a sector perform rating to an outperform rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. Royal Bank Of Canada currently has $546.00 price objective on the pharmaceutical company’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $455.00.

A number of other analysts have also commented on VRTX. Leerink Partners boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $456.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley set a $564.00 price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $513.10.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $468.41 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $118.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.03 and a beta of 0.31. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $362.50 and a 52-week high of $519.68. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $449.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $427.21.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.58 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $3.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 31.35% and a return on equity of 23.51%. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.38 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 4,500 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $474.99, for a total transaction of $2,137,455.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 42,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,088,752.07. This trade represents a 9.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Charles F. Wagner, Jr. sold 9,532 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $461.00, for a total value of $4,394,252.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 37,725 shares in the company, valued at $17,391,225. The trade was a 20.17% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 165,105 shares of company stock valued at $73,858,523. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.0% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,216,865 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $9,484,293,000 after buying an additional 243,088 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 16,553,281 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $6,482,978,000 after acquiring an additional 444,990 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in 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 buying an additional 1,089,063 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.9% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,928,747 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,627,135,000 after buying an additional 166,987 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 77.9% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,689,059 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,836,550,000 after buying an additional 2,053,156 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc is a Boston-based biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of therapies for serious diseases. Founded in 1989, Vertex built its reputation on research-driven drug development and is best known for its work in cystic fibrosis (CF), where its portfolio of small-molecule CFTR modulators transformed standards of care for many people with the disease. The company operates research and development, manufacturing and commercial organizations and serves patients and healthcare systems in multiple international markets.

Vertex’s marketed products center on CFTR modulators that target the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis rather than just treating symptoms.