Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Price Target Raised to $430.00 at Scotiabank

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) had its price objective raised by Scotiabank from $426.00 to $430.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Scotiabank currently has a sector perform rating on the pharmaceutical company’s stock.

VRTX has been the topic of several other research reports. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $566.00 to $520.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Oppenheimer lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $490.00 to $494.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $361.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $500.00 to $550.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $494.04.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $405.27 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $104.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -203.65 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a 50 day moving average of $470.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $475.25. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $377.85 and a 52-week high of $519.88. The company has a quick ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released 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 business had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.69 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.67 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. Atomi Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.6% during the second quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,090 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $511,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 7.0% during the second quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 1,805 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $846,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Conning Inc. boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.2% during the second quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 1,521 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $713,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth approximately $200,000. Finally, Strategic Blueprint LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 12.5% in the second quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 1,080 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $506,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently 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.