Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Truist Financial

Analysts at Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $542.00 price target on the pharmaceutical company’s stock. Truist Financial’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 22.44% from the stock’s previous close.

VRTX has been the topic of several other reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $445.00 to $466.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $577.00 to $572.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Barclays increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $607.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Maxim Group upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $575.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $540.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Twenty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $555.91.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX traded up $6.74 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $442.67. 103,105 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,370,201. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $440.01 and its 200-day moving average is $451.25. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $362.50 and a fifty-two week high of $507.92. The company has a market cap of $112.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.23. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.51% and a return on equity of 23.86%. The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.06 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 16.97 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 6,988 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total transaction of $3,144,600.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 26,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,739,600. This trade represents a 21.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Joy Liu sold 1,104 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.02, for a total transaction of $469,222.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 20,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,810,239.58. This represents a 5.06% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 11,717 shares of company stock worth $5,309,945 over the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Glenmede Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.0% in the first quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 5,608 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,504,000 after acquiring an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. Axiom Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth about $283,000. Groupama Asset Managment increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% during the first quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 165,897 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $74,080,000 after purchasing an additional 2,753 shares in the last quarter. Montchanin Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter valued at about $3,095,000. Finally, GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. now owns 4,417 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,972,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.