StockNews.com Upgrades Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) to “Strong-Buy”

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $451.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $562.00 to $586.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $535.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $480.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $499.12.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 3.8 %

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $465.70 on Wednesday. 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’s 50-day simple moving average is $476.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $471.06. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $341.90 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $119.93 billion, a PE ratio of -234.02 and a beta of 0.39.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.61 by $0.77. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.52% and a negative return on equity of 1.91%. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.67 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -1.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total value of $1,888,216.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 9,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,987,006. The trade was a 27.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $323,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,435 shares in the company, valued at $2,217,500. This represents a 12.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 58 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth $31,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.