Bank of America Issues Positive Forecast for Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Stock Price

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) had its price objective upped by Bank of America from $555.00 to $567.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the pharmaceutical company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on VRTX. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $435.00 to $467.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $408.00 to $424.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Oppenheimer lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $433.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $500.00 to $550.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $508.65.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.6 %

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $484.82 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $477.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $463.68. 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 has a 12 month low of $377.85 and a 12 month high of $519.88. The stock has a market cap of $124.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -220.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 530 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.34, for a total transaction of $251,930.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 58,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,825,928.26. This trade represents a 0.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $1,615,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,256,000. The trade was a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,315 shares of company stock valued at $2,121,012. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.