Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to Hold

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Saturday morning.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on VRTX. Evercore increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $475.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $445.00 to $466.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $590.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, February 13th. HC Wainwright increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $591.00 to $641.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $554.83.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $423.92 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $107.83 billion, a PE ratio of 27.65, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.30. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $362.50 and a 52-week high of $509.00. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $453.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $449.22.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The pharmaceutical company reported $5.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $3.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.18 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 24.30% and a net margin of 32.94%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.98 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 16.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Mark E. Bunnage sold 620 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $486.35, for a total value of $301,537.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 7,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,542,573.40. This trade represents a 7.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 4,910 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.65, for a total value of $2,394,361.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 17,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,562,646.35. The trade was a 21.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 80,431 shares of company stock worth $37,875,167. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vertex Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter valued at approximately $2,261,000. Global Assets Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.1% in the first quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC now owns 1,780 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $795,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.6% in the first quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 16,757 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $7,483,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.8% in the first quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp now owns 7,063 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,154,000 after buying an additional 966 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Welch & Forbes LLC lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.7% in the first quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 219,669 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $98,091,000 after buying an additional 1,471 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is 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.