Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Price Target Lowered to $466.00 at UBS Group

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) had its price target trimmed by UBS Group from $498.00 to $466.00 in a report published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the pharmaceutical company’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on VRTX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $390.00 to $438.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Canaccord Genuity Group cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a hold rating to a sell rating and increased their target price for the stock from $332.00 to $379.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Robert W. Baird cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a neutral rating to an underperform rating and set a $325.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an overweight rating and set a $440.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an outperform rating and issued a $500.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, April 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $429.45.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $394.28 on Wednesday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $316.43 and a 52-week high of $448.40. The company has a market cap of $101.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.39, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a quick ratio of 3.78, a current ratio of 3.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $413.60 and its 200 day moving average is $397.06.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.85 by $0.35. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 36.68% and a return on equity of 21.91%. The business had revenue of $2.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.33 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 14.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CAO Kristen Ambrose sold 1,374 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total value of $577,409.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,066,242.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Amit Sachdev sold 3,222 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total transaction of $1,354,013.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,250,727.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Kristen Ambrose sold 1,374 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total transaction of $577,409.76. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,066,242.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,381 shares of company stock valued at $5,203,249 in the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,293 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $933,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.9% during the 4th 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 grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,932 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,193,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Johnson Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,001 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $407,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Finally, Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC grew 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 valued at $326,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is 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.