Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Price Target Raised to $474.00 at Morgan Stanley

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) had its target price lifted by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $462.00 to $474.00 in a report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the pharmaceutical company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price indicates a potential upside of 1.92% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on VRTX. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $535.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Argus upped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $465.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. StockNews.com downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Barclays lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $472.00 to $509.00 in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $487.23.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $465.08 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $120.04 billion, a PE ratio of 30.18 and a beta of 0.40. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $341.85 and a 12-month high of $510.64. The company has a quick ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $479.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $454.54.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported ($12.83) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($12.54) by ($0.29). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.74% and a negative return on equity of 2.45%. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.66 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.53 EPS. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $323,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,217,500. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $323,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,217,500. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,280 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.34, for a total value of $1,111,135.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 27,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,557,311.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 31,767 shares of company stock worth $15,768,284 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Groesbeck Investment Management Corp NJ lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% during the second quarter. Groesbeck Investment Management Corp NJ now owns 1,794 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $841,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% in the second quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. now owns 3,586 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,681,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.0% in the second quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,101 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $516,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.0% during the 2nd quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 158 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 423 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $198,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.