Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Stock Rating Reaffirmed by HC Wainwright

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by stock analysts at HC Wainwright in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $462.00 target price on the pharmaceutical company’s stock. HC Wainwright’s price target suggests a potential upside of 10.31% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on VRTX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. Robert W. Baird cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $325.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $440.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Maxim Group downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $432.18.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $418.82 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $408.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $400.75. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $320.01 and a 1-year high of $448.40. The company has a market cap of $108.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.39. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.66 by $1.10. The business had revenue of $2.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 21.91% and a net margin of 36.68%. The company’s revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.67 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 14.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Stuart A. Arbuckle sold 4,295 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 transaction of $1,804,930.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 75,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,819,732.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, COO Stuart A. Arbuckle sold 4,295 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total value of $1,804,930.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 75,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,819,732.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 354 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.70, for a total transaction of $150,697.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,804 shares in the company, valued at $23,755,762.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,381 shares of company stock worth $5,203,249. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.1% in 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 during the last quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. now owns 636 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $259,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,932 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,193,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings 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 last quarter. Finally, Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC lifted 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 worth $326,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

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.