Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Stock Has Consensus Target Price of $579.81

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-eight analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $579.81.

VRTX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $665.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $585.00 to $615.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Evercore increased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $570.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, June 28th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth $11,975,849,000. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,871,459 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,896,910,000 after purchasing an additional 141,320 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.1% in the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.0% in the 2nd 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 worth $1,533,248,000 after buying an additional 29,287 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,509,651,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 2.1%

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $508.75 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $129.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.28. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $523.47 and a 200-day moving average of $480.41. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $403.16 and a 52 week high of $560.25.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.73 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.74 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $3.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.23 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.09% and a net margin of 35.00%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.52 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 16.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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 molecular biology, genetics and drug discovery to address conditions with significant unmet medical needs.

Vertex is best known for its portfolio of cystic fibrosis treatments, including Kalydeco, Orkambi, Symdeko/Symkevi and Trikafta/Kaftrio. These medicines target the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis by addressing defects in the CFTR protein.