Guggenheim Boosts Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Price Target to $450.00

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) had its price objective upped by research analysts at Guggenheim from $445.00 to $450.00 in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the pharmaceutical company’s stock. Guggenheim’s target price indicates a potential upside of 14.13% from the company’s current price.

VRTX has been the topic of a number of other reports. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $515.00 target price on the stock. Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $325.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $446.00 to $472.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and upped their target price for the company from $332.00 to $379.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, HC Wainwright upped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $457.00 to $462.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $429.45.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX opened at $394.28 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $413.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $397.06. The company has a market cap of $101.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a quick ratio of 3.78, a current ratio of 3.99 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.

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

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,293 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $933,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. now owns 636 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $259,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,932 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,193,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,001 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $407,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC now owns 800 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $326,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

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.