Piper Sandler Increases Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Price Target to $456.00

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) had its target price boosted by analysts at Piper Sandler from $450.00 to $456.00 in a report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the pharmaceutical company’s stock. Piper Sandler’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 8.88% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Barclays boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $446.00 to $472.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $397.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $445.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $432.18.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $418.82 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 3.78 and a current ratio of 3.99. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $320.01 and a 52 week high of $448.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $108.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.39. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $408.02 and a 200-day moving average of $400.75.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.66 by $1.10. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 21.91% and a net margin of 36.68%. The firm had revenue of $2.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.67 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 14.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Amit Sachdev sold 3,222 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total transaction of $1,354,013.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,250,727.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 354 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.70, for a total value of $150,697.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,804 shares in the company, valued at $23,755,762.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Amit Sachdev sold 3,222 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total value of $1,354,013.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 74,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,250,727.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 12,381 shares of company stock worth $5,203,249. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of VRTX. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,293 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $933,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. now owns 636 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $259,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,932 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,193,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Johnson Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,001 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $407,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC now owns 800 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $326,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

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.