Analysts Set Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Target Price at $506.70

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-six ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $506.70.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $500.00 to $550.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $459.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $435.00 to $467.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $533.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $460.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, January 30th.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of VRTX opened at $512.52 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $464.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $462.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $131.61 billion, a P/E ratio of -232.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $377.85 and a 1-year high of $519.88. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 4.86%. Analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total value of $111,034.64. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,805,286.70. The trade was a 0.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $1,615,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,256,000. This represents a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Norges Bank bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,374,948,000. Parnassus Investments LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $731,283,000. Edgewood Management LLC increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 7,876.3% in the 3rd quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 1,546,370 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $719,186,000 after buying an additional 1,526,983 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 28,325,695 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $11,406,667,000 after buying an additional 1,514,993 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,428,951 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,199,713,000 after purchasing an additional 1,426,746 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is owned by 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.