Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Earns “Overweight” Rating from Cantor Fitzgerald

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX)‘s stock had its “overweight” rating restated by research analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $480.00 price target on the pharmaceutical company’s stock. Cantor Fitzgerald’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 5.91% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $451.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Bank of America dropped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $522.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $490.00 to $494.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $459.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $505.96.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $453.20 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $116.71 billion, a PE ratio of -227.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 2.20. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $435.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $461.85. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $377.85 and a 1 year high of $519.88.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 310 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.83, for a total transaction of $142,547.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 64,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,438,776.43. This represents a 0.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available 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 modified their holdings of VRTX. Mutual Advisors LLC increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% during the third quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 3,710 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,751,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.7% in the third quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 410 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $191,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 30.3% during the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 99 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.8% during the third quarter. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 892 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $415,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 58 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by 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.