Morgan Stanley Issues Positive Forecast for Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Stock Price

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) had its price target boosted by Morgan Stanley from $450.00 to $459.00 in a research note released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the pharmaceutical company’s stock.

VRTX has been the topic of several other research reports. UBS Group raised their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $562.00 to $586.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $500.00 to $550.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $566.00 to $520.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $460.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $505.96.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

VRTX stock opened at $462.58 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 2.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $119.13 billion, a P/E ratio of -232.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.41. The business’s 50-day moving average is $435.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $461.79. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $377.85 and a 1 year high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 1.91% and a negative net margin of 4.52%. Analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 310 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.83, for a total value of $142,547.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 64,021 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,438,776.43. This trade represents a 0.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 58 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.