Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Price Target Cut to $466.00

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) had its target price lowered by UBS Group from $498.00 to $466.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the pharmaceutical company’s stock. UBS Group’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 18.43% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on VRTX. Wolfe Research began coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $515.00 price target on the stock. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $445.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Maxim Group downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $429.45.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $393.48 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $101.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.35. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $316.43 and a 52-week high of $448.40. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $414.17 and a 200 day moving average of $396.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 3.78 and a current ratio of 3.99.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.85 by $0.35. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 21.91% and a net margin of 36.68%. The business had revenue of $2.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.33 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 15.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, COO Stuart A. Arbuckle sold 4,295 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total transaction of $1,804,930.80. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 75,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,819,732.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, CAO Kristen Ambrose sold 1,374 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total transaction of $577,409.76. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,066,242.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Stuart A. Arbuckle sold 4,295 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total value of $1,804,930.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 75,718 shares in the company, valued at $31,819,732.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 12,381 shares of company stock valued at $5,203,249. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vertex Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. LSV Asset Management boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 206.3% in the 1st quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 4,751 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,240,000 after purchasing an additional 3,200 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 9.6% in the 1st quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 6,737 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,759,000 after purchasing an additional 590 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 69.4% in the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 6,622 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,728,000 after purchasing an additional 2,713 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 28.4% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 44,090 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $11,756,000 after purchasing an additional 9,761 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 14,114 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,683,000 after purchasing an additional 544 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.