Vertex Pharmaceuticals’ (VRTX) “Outperform” Rating Reaffirmed at Oppenheimer

Oppenheimer reiterated their outperform rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) in a research note released on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $500.00 target price on the pharmaceutical company’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on VRTX. Evercore ISI raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an in-line rating to an outperform rating and set a $438.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Maxim Group cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. William Blair restated an outperform rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $456.00 to $508.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $390.00 to $438.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $424.62.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.2 %

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $397.36 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 3.99, a quick ratio of 3.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $316.43 and a 12-month high of $448.40. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $415.72 and a 200 day moving average of $396.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $102.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.35.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.85 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $2.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 21.91% and a net margin of 36.68%. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.33 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 14.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 354 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.70, for a total value of $150,697.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,804 shares in the company, valued at $23,755,762.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 354 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.70, for a total value of $150,697.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,804 shares in the company, valued at $23,755,762.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Stuart A. Arbuckle sold 4,295 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total value of $1,804,930.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 75,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,819,732.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 12,381 shares of company stock worth $5,203,249. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,282,180 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $9,066,396,000 after purchasing an additional 298,824 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,805,770 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $8,872,586,000 after purchasing an additional 3,824,103 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,409,257 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,700,938,000 after purchasing an additional 26,538 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,944,913 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,605,146,000 after purchasing an additional 147,248 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,567,664 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,451,647,000 after purchasing an additional 195,080 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.