Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Stock Rating Upgraded by Truist Financial

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) was upgraded by investment analysts at Truist Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

VRTX has been the topic of several other reports. Leerink Partners upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $456.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $577.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $495.00 to $558.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, HC Wainwright raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $591.00 to $641.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $554.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $453.74 on Wednesday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $362.50 and a 12-month high of $510.77. The business has a 50 day moving average of $469.27 and a 200-day moving average of $441.65. The stock has a market cap of $115.26 billion, a PE ratio of 29.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.31.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The pharmaceutical company reported $5.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $3.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.18 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 24.30% and a net margin of 32.94%.Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.98 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,329 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $481.79, for a total transaction of $1,122,088.91. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 35,405 shares in the company, valued at $17,057,774.95. The trade was a 6.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $474.99, for a total value of $2,137,455.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 42,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,088,752.07. The trade was a 9.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 93,485 shares of company stock valued at $43,967,586 over the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 650 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $295,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 545 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $247,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. now owns 1,155 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $524,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 730 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $331,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 5,026 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,279,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Vertex Pharmaceuticals News

Here are the key news stories impacting Vertex Pharmaceuticals this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Truist Financial upgraded Vertex to “strong-buy”, providing near-term analyst momentum and potential buying interest. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group raised its FY2027 EPS estimate for VRTX (to $19.48 from $19.31), signaling growing analyst confidence in Vertex’s longer-term earnings trajectory versus current consensus. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Headline coverage notes Vertex recently outperformed the market, reflecting short-term buying interest and positive sentiment among investors. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary pieces suggest recent volatility may present a buying opportunity for long-term investors, but these are opinion-driven and depend on risk tolerance and time horizon. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Maze Therapeutics reported positive Phase II data for an APOL1-targeted kidney drug — a potential rival to Vertex’s candidate — introducing competitive risk that could affect Vertex’s addressable market and future revenue assumptions. Read More.

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.