Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-nine ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have issued a hold recommendation, seventeen have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $504.38.

VRTX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $541.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 14th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $7,912,000. American Trust acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth $680,000. Tri Ri Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth $8,726,000. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.8% in the third quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 2,186 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,017,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Destination Wealth Management increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.5% in the third quarter. Destination Wealth Management now owns 3,361 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,563,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $462.10 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $472.85 and a 200 day moving average of $475.14. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a market cap of $119.00 billion, a P/E ratio of -232.21 and a beta of 0.36. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $348.46 and a twelve month high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.61 by $0.77. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.69 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 1.91% and a negative net margin of 4.52%. The business’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.67 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -1.83 EPS for the current year.

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.