Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Receives $555.17 Average Price Target from Analysts

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-five brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twenty-one have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $555.1739.

VRTX has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Evercore increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $475.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $445.00 to $466.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $580.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $607.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $434.52 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $110.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.30. The business has a 50-day moving average of $441.55 and a 200 day moving average of $450.85. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $362.50 and a 12 month high of $507.92.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Kristen Ambrose sold 223 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $486.35, for a total value of $108,456.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 6,981 shares in the company, valued at $3,395,209.35. The trade was a 3.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 20,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,810,239.58. This trade represents a 5.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 21,189 shares of company stock valued at $9,923,036. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 650 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $295,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 545 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $247,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. now owns 1,155 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $524,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 730 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $331,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cannell & Spears LLC boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% in the first quarter. Cannell & Spears LLC now owns 1,983 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $885,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.