Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on VRTX. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $522.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $506.70.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $495.42 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $453.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $461.58. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $377.85 and a twelve month high of $519.88. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $127.22 billion, a PE ratio of -225.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total transaction of $111,034.64. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,805,286.70. This represents a 0.36 % 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. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $1,615,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,256,000. The trade was a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Centaurus Financial Inc. raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 1,995 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $803,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Wealthedge Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth $894,000. Lighthouse Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at $1,492,000. IronOak Wealth LLC. bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $623,000. Finally, TFR Capital LLC. purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth about $1,837,000. 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.