Scotiabank Cuts Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Price Target to $442.00

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) had its price target decreased by Scotiabank from $450.00 to $442.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. Scotiabank currently has a sector perform rating on the pharmaceutical company’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on VRTX. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $462.00 to $464.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $555.00 to $567.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $512.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $533.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $435.00 to $467.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $515.04.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $429.60 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.69. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $489.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $466.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $110.44 billion, a PE ratio of -195.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.51. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $377.85 and a 52-week high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.29 by ($0.23). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 4.86%. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.76 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,695 shares in the company, valued at $30,805,286.70. This trade represents a 0.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $1,615,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at $13,256,000. This trade represents a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. ABC Arbitrage SA bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth about $1,510,000. Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 55,838 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $22,486,000 after purchasing an additional 3,260 shares during the period. Highview Capital Management LLC DE grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 5,771 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,324,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Davidson Investment Advisors increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 26.0% during the 4th quarter. Davidson Investment Advisors now owns 61,161 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $24,630,000 after purchasing an additional 12,631 shares during the period. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 75.5% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,468 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $994,000 after purchasing an additional 1,062 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

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.