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

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-six brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $505.57.

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $522.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Oppenheimer downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their target price for the company from $408.00 to $424.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $402.00 to $407.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total value of $111,034.64. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,805,286.70. This represents a 0.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vertex Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 28,325,695 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $11,406,667,000 after acquiring an additional 1,514,993 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,258,288 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $9,366,113,000 after purchasing an additional 98,654 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,816,249 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,495,501,000 after purchasing an additional 90,173 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,428,951 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,199,713,000 after purchasing an additional 1,426,746 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.3% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,916,084 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,382,407,000 after buying an additional 1,117,214 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $471.76 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $435.32 and its 200 day moving average is $460.52. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $377.85 and a 12-month high of $519.88. The stock has a market cap of $121.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -214.44, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued 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 net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 15.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.