Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Friday morning.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on VRTX. Evercore ISI raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an in-line rating to an outperform rating and set a $438.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. HC Wainwright increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $457.00 to $462.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. They set an outperform rating and a $515.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $397.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $498.00 to $466.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $430.86.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $401.08 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $409.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $400.14. The firm has a market cap of $103.66 billion, a PE ratio of 28.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.39. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $320.01 and a 1-year high of $448.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 3.99 and a quick ratio of 3.78.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.85 by $0.35. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 21.91% and a net margin of 36.68%. The firm had revenue of $2.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.33 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 14.95 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 354 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.70, for a total value of $150,697.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,804 shares in the company, valued at $23,755,762.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 354 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.70, for a total transaction of $150,697.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,804 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,755,762.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Stuart A. Arbuckle sold 4,295 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $1,804,930.80. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 75,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,819,732.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,381 shares of company stock valued at $5,203,249 over the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $25,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 97.1% in the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 67 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.