Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Citigroup

Citigroup upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) to a strong-buy rating in a research report report published on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

VRTX has been the subject of several other reports. Raymond James reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Barclays cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $472.00 to $509.00 in a report on Monday, August 5th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $562.00 to $586.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, July 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $499.12.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock traded down $22.86 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $461.10. 888,563 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,171,861. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $341.90 and a 1-year high of $519.88. The company has a market capitalization of $118.75 billion, a PE ratio of -235.63 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The business has a fifty day moving average of $476.44 and a 200 day moving average of $470.57.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.61 by $0.77. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 1.91% and a negative net margin of 4.52%. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.67 EPS. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -1.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total value of $1,888,216.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 9,994 shares in the company, valued at $4,987,006. This represents a 27.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $323,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,217,500. The trade was a 12.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 25,567,184 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $10,687,339,000 after buying an additional 3,761,414 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 61.0% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,743,882 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,401,000,000 after buying an additional 2,176,218 shares in the last quarter. Edgewood Management LLC grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 7,876.3% during the third quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 1,546,370 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $719,186,000 after buying an additional 1,526,983 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 18.1% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,550,386 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,581,373,000 after buying an additional 851,054 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth approximately $277,317,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.