Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-eight analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $498.4211.

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $455.00 to $445.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $517.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 63,781 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $449.20, for a total transaction of $28,650,425.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 24,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,792,479.20. The trade was a 72.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Charles F. Wagner, Jr. sold 14,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.00, for a total transaction of $6,384,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 37,725 shares in the company, valued at $17,202,600. This represents a 27.07% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 151,073 shares of company stock worth $67,326,816 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,593,974,000. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 77.9% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,689,059 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,836,550,000 after purchasing an additional 2,053,156 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 72.5% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,917,227 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,414,331,000 after purchasing an additional 1,226,527 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.5% in the second quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 6,151,505 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,738,650,000 after purchasing an additional 1,089,063 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 214.6% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 763,703 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $299,097,000 after purchasing an additional 520,949 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.2%

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $454.96 on Wednesday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $362.50 and a 12 month high of $519.68. The stock has a market cap of $115.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.08 and a beta of 0.32. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $428.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $425.62.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.58 by $0.22. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.51% and a net margin of 31.35%.The firm had revenue of $3.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.38 EPS. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.