Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Given New $525.00 Price Target at Leerink Partners

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) had its target price hoisted by Leerink Partners from $456.00 to $525.00 in a research report report published on Monday morning, Marketbeat reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the pharmaceutical company’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on VRTX. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $408.00 to $414.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley set a $564.00 price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $455.00 to $445.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $517.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $502.05.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $459.78 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $116.66 billion, a PE ratio of 32.42 and a beta of 0.32. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $362.50 and a 1 year high of $519.68. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $436.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $426.18.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.58 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $3.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 31.35% and a return on equity of 23.51%. The business’s revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.38 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Charles F. Wagner, Jr. sold 14,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were 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 approximately $17,202,600. The trade was a 27.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 63,781 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 owned 24,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,792,479.20. The trade was a 72.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 151,073 shares of company stock valued at $67,326,816. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,593,974,000. Capital International Investors boosted its position 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 worth $1,836,550,000 after purchasing an additional 2,053,156 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.5% in the 2nd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 6,151,505 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,738,650,000 after acquiring an additional 1,089,063 shares during the last quarter. 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 worth $299,097,000 after purchasing an additional 520,949 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.1% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,973,777 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $10,673,126,000 after acquiring an additional 482,616 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 Inc is a Boston-based biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of therapies for serious diseases. Founded in 1989, Vertex built its reputation on research-driven drug development and is best known for its work in cystic fibrosis (CF), where its portfolio of small-molecule CFTR modulators transformed standards of care for many people with the disease. The company operates research and development, manufacturing and commercial organizations and serves patients and healthcare systems in multiple international markets.

Vertex’s marketed products center on CFTR modulators that target the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis rather than just treating symptoms.