Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Rating Lowered to Peer Perform at Wolfe Research

Wolfe Research lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) from an outperform rating to a peer perform rating in a research note published on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $535.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $555.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. 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 note on Thursday, January 30th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $515.04.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $425.30 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $488.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $465.90. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $377.85 and a 52 week high of $519.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $109.34 billion, a PE ratio of -193.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.51.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, 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 value of $1,615,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,256,000. The trade was a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total transaction of $111,034.64. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 67,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,805,286.70. This trade represents a 0.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012 in the last quarter. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 30.3% in the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 99 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently 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.