Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Sets New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday. The stock traded as high as $563.80 and last traded at $558.82, with a volume of 198,526 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $540.00.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $665.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $570.00 to $576.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $633.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $585.00 to $615.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $579.81.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $522.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $478.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $141.90 billion, a PE ratio of 32.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.28.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.73 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.74 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.23 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.00% and a return on equity of 23.09%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.52 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth $11,975,849,000. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,871,459 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,896,910,000 after buying an additional 141,320 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.1% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,247,658 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,613,209,000 after buying an additional 35,069 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.0% in the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,086,683 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,533,248,000 after purchasing an additional 29,287 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,509,651,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated is a global biotechnology company focused on developing and commercializing medicines for serious diseases. Founded in 1989 and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, the company applies expertise in the science of human disease to discover therapies that address significant unmet medical needs.

Vertex is best known for its cystic fibrosis portfolio, which includes Kalydeco, Orkambi, Symdeko/Symkevi, and Trikafta/Kaftrio. These medicines target the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis for patients with specific mutations in the CFTR gene.