HC Wainwright Reiterates “Buy” Rating for Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by equities researchers at HC Wainwright in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $550.00 price target on the pharmaceutical company’s stock. HC Wainwright’s price target indicates a potential upside of 21.36% from the stock’s current price.

VRTX has been the topic of a number of other reports. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $460.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 23rd. StockNews.com cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, November 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $575.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $473.00 to $476.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $562.00 to $586.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $505.96.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.4 %

VRTX stock opened at $453.20 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $377.85 and a twelve month high of $519.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $116.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -227.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.41. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $435.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $461.85.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.52% and a negative return on equity of 1.91%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -1.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 310 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.83, for a total value of $142,547.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 64,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,438,776.43. This trade represents a 0.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 58 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.