Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Sets New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $512.00 and last traded at $513.60, with a volume of 93462 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $498.01.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on VRTX. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $577.00 to $572.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $436.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $571.00 to $598.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. HC Wainwright increased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $591.00 to $641.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Twenty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $555.91.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $131.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.87, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.29. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $445.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $455.42.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.99 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.86% and a net margin of 35.51%.Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.06 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.02 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 596 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $482.50, for a total value of $287,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 15,337 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,400,102.50. This trade represents a 3.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 318 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.73, for a total transaction of $134,746.14. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,924 shares in the company, valued at $2,086,446.52. The trade was a 6.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 15,833 shares of company stock worth $7,120,702 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Swiss RE Ltd. bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 277.8% during the fourth quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 68 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ares Financial Consulting LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.