FY2025 EPS Estimates for VRTX Decreased by Cantor Fitzgerald

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) - Research analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their FY2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, May 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald analyst C. Gould now forecasts that the pharmaceutical company will post earnings per share of $15.60 for the year, down from their prior forecast of $15.67. Cantor Fitzgerald has a "Overweight" rating and a $535.00 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for Vertex Pharmaceuticals' current full-year earnings is $15.63 per share.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Wolfe Research downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Bank of America raised their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $555.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $462.00 to $464.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $460.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $515.04.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VRTX traded up $14.38 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $439.37. 2,095,065 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,393,948. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $488.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $465.83. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $377.85 and a 52 week high of $519.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $112.83 billion, a P/E ratio of -199.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.51.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.06 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.23). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 4.86%. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.76 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $1,615,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,256,000. The trade was a 10.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 530 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.34, for a total value of $251,930.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 58,539 shares in the company, valued at $27,825,928.26. This represents a 0.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,315 shares of company stock valued at $2,121,012. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VRTX. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.6% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 410,359 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $190,850,000 after purchasing an additional 21,649 shares during the period. First Hawaiian Bank raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 20.4% during the fourth quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 4,942 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,990,000 after purchasing an additional 836 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 108.2% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 102 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 30,383 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $12,235,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares during the period. Finally, RMR Wealth Builders raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 4,239 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,707,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.