Analysts Set Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) PT at $429.45

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the twenty-three brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have assigned a hold recommendation and fourteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $429.45.

Several brokerages have weighed in on VRTX. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $456.00 to $508.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $438.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $445.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Robert W. Baird lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $325.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Stuart A. Arbuckle sold 4,295 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total transaction of $1,804,930.80. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 75,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,819,732.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, COO Stuart A. Arbuckle sold 4,295 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total value of $1,804,930.80. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 75,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,819,732.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 480 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $420.79, for a total transaction of $201,979.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 59,827 shares in the company, valued at $25,174,603.33. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 12,381 shares of company stock valued at $5,203,249. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of VRTX. Capital Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth $293,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 9,130 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,175,000 after purchasing an additional 799 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 2,568 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $893,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 126,098 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $43,849,000 after acquiring an additional 375 shares during the period. Finally, MBM Wealth Consultants LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 2,279 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $846,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $397.48 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 3.99 and a quick ratio of 3.78. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $320.01 and a 1-year high of $448.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $102.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.35. The company’s 50-day moving average is $411.60 and its 200 day moving average is $399.17.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.85 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $2.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 36.68% and a return on equity of 21.91%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.33 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 14.95 EPS for the current year.

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.