Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-nine brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $554.3043.

Several research firms recently commented on VRTX. Scotiabank raised their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $495.00 to $558.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $445.00 to $466.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. UBS Group raised their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $545.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Truist Financial upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,329 shares of the company’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 value of $1,122,088.91. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 35,405 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,057,774.95. This represents a 6.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Mark E. Bunnage sold 620 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $486.35, for a total transaction of $301,537.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 7,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,542,573.40. This trade represents a 7.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 93,485 shares of company stock worth $43,967,586 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.8% in the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 544,978 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $213,435,000 after buying an additional 20,053 shares in the last quarter. Leuthold Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth $5,030,000. Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth $64,417,000. Advisory Resource Group acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth $1,286,000. Finally, ING Groep NV acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth $4,695,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.3%

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $453.74 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $362.50 and a 52 week high of $510.77. The stock has a market cap of $115.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $469.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $441.65.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $3.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.18 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 32.94% and a return on equity of 24.30%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.98 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.