Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Price Target Cut to $466.00

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) had its target price cut by stock analysts at UBS Group from $498.00 to $466.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the pharmaceutical company’s stock. UBS Group’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 18.43% from the company’s previous close.

VRTX has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $440.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $456.00 to $508.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $390.00 to $438.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $438.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $429.45.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $393.48 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $414.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $396.74. The firm has a market cap of $101.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.33, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.35. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $316.43 and a 52-week high of $448.40. The company has a quick ratio of 3.78, a current ratio of 3.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.85 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $2.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 21.91% and a net margin of 36.68%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.33 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 15.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Stuart A. Arbuckle sold 4,295 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total transaction of $1,804,930.80. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 75,718 shares in the company, valued at $31,819,732.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 480 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.79, for a total value of $201,979.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 59,827 shares in the company, valued at $25,174,603.33. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Stuart A. Arbuckle sold 4,295 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total value of $1,804,930.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 75,718 shares in the company, valued at $31,819,732.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 12,381 shares of company stock worth $5,203,249. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. LSV Asset Management grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 206.3% during the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 4,751 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,240,000 after purchasing an additional 3,200 shares during the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 9.6% during the first quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 6,737 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,759,000 after purchasing an additional 590 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 69.4% during the first quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 6,622 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,728,000 after purchasing an additional 2,713 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 28.4% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 44,090 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $11,756,000 after acquiring an additional 9,761 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.0% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 14,114 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,683,000 after acquiring an additional 544 shares during the last quarter. 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.