Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Receives Overweight Rating from Cantor Fitzgerald

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX)‘s stock had its “overweight” rating reiterated by research analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $535.00 price target on the pharmaceutical company’s stock. Cantor Fitzgerald’s price objective points to a potential upside of 6.96% from the stock’s current price.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $533.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Leerink Partners reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $503.00 price objective (down previously from $550.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets set a $545.00 price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $514.39.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.2 %

VRTX stock opened at $500.19 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $128.59 billion, a PE ratio of -227.36, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $492.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $466.91. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $377.85 and a 1-year high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.29 by ($0.23). The business had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.85 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.76 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total value of $111,034.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 67,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,805,286.70. This represents a 0.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $1,615,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,256,000. This represents a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,315 shares of company stock valued at $2,121,012. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. ABC Arbitrage SA acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,510,000. Czech National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 55,838 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $22,486,000 after acquiring an additional 3,260 shares during the period. Highview Capital Management LLC DE lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 5,771 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,324,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. Davidson Investment Advisors boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 26.0% in the fourth quarter. Davidson Investment Advisors now owns 61,161 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $24,630,000 after acquiring an additional 12,631 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 75.5% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,468 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $994,000 after purchasing an additional 1,062 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

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.