Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Now Covered by Scotiabank

Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) in a report issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm set a “sector perform” rating and a $480.00 price target on the pharmaceutical company’s stock. Scotiabank’s price objective indicates a potential downside of 3.76% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $545.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $540.00 to $555.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. HC Wainwright upped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $492.92.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX opened at $498.73 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $474.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $459.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $128.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -245.68 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a quick ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $341.90 and a 52-week high of $510.64.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported ($12.83) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($12.54) by ($0.29). The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.66 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.74% and a negative return on equity of 2.45%. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.53 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $323,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,217,500. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total transaction of $1,888,216.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 9,994 shares in the company, valued at $4,987,006. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $323,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,217,500. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 29,487 shares of company stock valued at $14,657,149 over the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital World Investors lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 25,567,184 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $10,687,339,000 after purchasing an additional 3,761,414 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 61.0% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,743,882 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,401,000,000 after buying an additional 2,176,218 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.2% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,782,374 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,999,080,000 after buying an additional 837,461 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter worth about $277,317,000. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at about $257,655,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

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.