Citigroup Upgrades Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) to “Strong-Buy”

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Citigroup to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

VRTX has been the topic of a number of other reports. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $558.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $480.00 to $486.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $550.00 price objective (up from $508.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $480.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $510.00 to $503.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $499.12.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $483.96 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $476.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $470.48. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $341.90 and a twelve month high of $519.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a current ratio of 2.47. The company has a market capitalization of $124.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -243.20 and a beta of 0.39.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.77. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.69 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.52% and a negative return on equity of 1.91%. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.67 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -1.82 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $323,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,217,500. This represents a 12.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total value of $1,888,216.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 9,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,987,006. This trade represents a 27.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VRTX. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 25,567,184 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $10,687,339,000 after buying an additional 3,761,414 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 61.0% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,743,882 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,401,000,000 after buying an additional 2,176,218 shares during the last quarter. Edgewood Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 valued at $719,186,000 after purchasing an additional 1,526,983 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 18.1% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,550,386 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,581,373,000 after purchasing an additional 851,054 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth approximately $277,317,000. 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.