Oppenheimer Lowers Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Price Target to $540.00

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) had its target price cut by analysts at Oppenheimer from $550.00 to $540.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the pharmaceutical company’s stock. Oppenheimer’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 13.45% from the company’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also commented on VRTX. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $371.00 to $376.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Raymond James restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $480.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $550.00 target price (up from $508.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $492.50.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.2 %

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $475.98 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 2.26 and a current ratio of 2.52. The company has a market capitalization of $122.85 billion, a P/E ratio of -234.47 and a beta of 0.40. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $474.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $463.95. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $341.90 and a 52 week high of $510.64.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported ($12.83) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($12.54) by ($0.29). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.45% and a negative net margin of 4.74%. The business had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.66 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.53 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -2.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $323,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,217,500. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $323,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,217,500. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total transaction of $1,888,216.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 9,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,987,006. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 6,710 shares of company stock valued at $3,298,206. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Portside Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 10.7% during the 3rd quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,005 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $932,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Keynote Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at about $498,000. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 27.2% during the 3rd quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 220 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $102,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at about $753,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 410,359 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $190,850,000 after acquiring an additional 21,649 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.