JPMorgan Chase & Co. Reaffirms "Overweight" Rating for Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Key Points

• JPMorgan reaffirmed its “Overweight” rating on Vertex Pharmaceuticals and raised its price target from $515 to $560, implying 8.83% upside from the previous close.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $570.83.
• Vertex reported quarterly revenue of $3.33 billion, exceeding expectations and rising 12.5% year over year, while earnings per share narrowly missed estimates at $4.73 versus $4.74 expected.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "overweight" rating restated by investment analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $560.00 target price on the pharmaceutical company's stock, up from their prior target price of $515.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price target would suggest a potential upside of 8.83% from the company's previous close.

VRTX has been the topic of a number of other reports. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $525.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $543.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $436.00 to $442.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $570.83.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $514.56 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $374.17 and a one year high of $560.25. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $511.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $472.86. The company has a market cap of $130.60 billion, a PE ratio of 29.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.32.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.73 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.74 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $3.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.23 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.09% and a net margin of 35.00%.Vertex Pharmaceuticals's revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.52 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 16.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $524.99, for a total value of $787,485.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 45,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,793,071.79. This represents a 3.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 4,062 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total transaction of $1,827,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 16,953 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,628,850. This trade represents a 19.33% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 8,719 shares of company stock valued at $4,174,147. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth about $26,000. Community Financial Services Group LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 103.7% in the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 55 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Swiss RE Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated is a global biotechnology company focused on developing and commercializing medicines for serious diseases. Founded in 1989 and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, the company combines research in human genetics with drug discovery and development.

Vertex is best known for its cystic fibrosis portfolio, which includes CFTR modulator therapies such as Kalydeco, Orkambi, Symdeko and the combination marketed as Trikafta in the United States and Kaftrio in other markets.

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