Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Gap Up After Analyst Upgrade

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) gapped up prior to trading on Friday after HC Wainwright raised their price target on the stock from $535.00 to $550.00. The stock had previously closed at $438.40, but opened at $454.17. HC Wainwright currently has a buy rating on the stock. Vertex Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $466.54, with a volume of 393,072 shares changing hands.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on VRTX. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $490.00 to $494.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $522.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $426.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $503.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $495.36.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VRTX. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth $25,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 58 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $434.34 and a 200 day moving average of $463.31. The stock has a market cap of $118.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -231.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 2.20.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.77. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.52% and a negative return on equity of 1.91%. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.67 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.