Piper Sandler Raises Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Price Target to $456.00

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) had its price objective raised by Piper Sandler from $450.00 to $456.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the pharmaceutical company’s stock. Piper Sandler’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 8.88% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on VRTX. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $332.00 to $379.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $456.00 to $508.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Maxim Group lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $462.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $432.18.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

VRTX opened at $418.82 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 3.78 and a current ratio of 3.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $108.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.15, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a fifty day moving average of $408.02 and a 200 day moving average of $400.75. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $320.01 and a fifty-two week high of $448.40.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 6th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.66 by $1.10. The business had revenue of $2.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.58 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 36.68% and a return on equity of 21.91%. The business’s revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.67 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 14.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Amit Sachdev sold 3,222 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total transaction of $1,354,013.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,250,727.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, COO Stuart A. Arbuckle sold 4,295 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 75,718 shares in the company, valued at $31,819,732.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Amit Sachdev sold 3,222 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total value of $1,354,013.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,250,727.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 12,381 shares of company stock worth $5,203,249. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 65.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC now owns 2,645 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $920,000 after purchasing an additional 1,045 shares during the last quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,073 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $6,133,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares during the period. Machina Capital S.A.S. purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth $816,000. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,870,101 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $998,050,000 after acquiring an additional 89,217 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.4% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 29,897 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $12,497,000 after purchasing an additional 3,999 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.