William Blair Research Analysts Boost Earnings Estimates for Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) – Equities research analysts at William Blair upped their Q1 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report released on Wednesday, April 17th. William Blair analyst M. Minter now expects that the pharmaceutical company will post earnings of $3.73 per share for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $3.70. William Blair currently has a “Outperform” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Vertex Pharmaceuticals’ current full-year earnings is $14.95 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Vertex Pharmaceuticals’ FY2025 earnings at $17.85 EPS.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Maxim Group cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $498.00 to $466.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $390.00 to $438.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. StockNews.com raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, February 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $515.00 target price on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $429.45.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $394.28 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 3.99, a quick ratio of 3.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $413.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $397.06. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $316.43 and a 12 month 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.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.85 by $0.35. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 36.68% and a return on equity of 21.91%. The firm had revenue of $2.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.33 earnings per share.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 65.3% during the third quarter. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC now owns 2,645 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $920,000 after buying an additional 1,045 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 432,937 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $150,550,000 after acquiring an additional 26,523 shares during the period. Telos Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,073 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $6,133,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 427,001 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $148,485,000 after purchasing an additional 5,514 shares during the period. Finally, Machina Capital S.A.S. bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at approximately $816,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.