Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-eight research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, thirteen have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $511.71.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on VRTX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $515.00 to $517.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $535.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, June 23rd.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. EWA LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 16.6% during the 2nd quarter. EWA LLC now owns 681 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $303,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 49.0% during the 2nd quarter. Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC now owns 4,458 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,985,000 after purchasing an additional 1,467 shares in the last quarter. Warren Street Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 19.6% during the 2nd quarter. Warren Street Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 609 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $271,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 34.2% during the 2nd quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI now owns 10,428 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,643,000 after purchasing an additional 2,660 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pure Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 248.7% during the 2nd quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,891 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,287,000 after purchasing an additional 2,062 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

VRTX stock opened at $459.81 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $118.08 billion, a P/E ratio of -117.30 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $449.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $462.88. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $377.85 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88. The company has a quick ratio of 2.29, a current ratio of 2.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.23). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 8.91% and a negative return on equity of 3.36%. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.76 earnings per share. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.