Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Upgraded at Canaccord Genuity Group

Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have $424.00 price objective on the pharmaceutical company’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $408.00.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on VRTX. Truist Financial upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $503.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $459.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $575.00 target price for the company. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $505.96.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 2.1 %

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $462.58 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $435.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $461.79. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $377.85 and a 12 month high of $519.88. The company has a market capitalization of $119.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -232.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.41.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.52% and a negative return on equity of 1.91%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 310 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.83, for a total transaction of $142,547.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 64,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,438,776.43. The trade was a 0.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. Czech National Bank boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 55,838 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $22,486,000 after purchasing an additional 3,260 shares during the period. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth $662,000. Concord Wealth Partners boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 32.6% during the 4th quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 3,508 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,413,000 after purchasing an additional 862 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 289.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 77,393 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $35,994,000 after purchasing an additional 57,497 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 19.4% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 342,429 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $137,783,000 after purchasing an additional 55,739 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.