Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating from 23 brokerages, with 20 buy ratings, two holds, and one strong-buy rating. The average analyst price target is $570.83, above the reported share price of $516.34.
• Recent quarterly results showed 12.5% year-over-year revenue growth to $3.33 billion, exceeding expectations, though earnings per share of $4.73 narrowly missed consensus by $0.01.
• Insiders sold roughly $1.87 million of stock over the past 90 days under pre-arranged trading plans, while institutional investors remain heavily involved, owning 90.96% of outstanding shares.

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-three brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $570.8261.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on VRTX shares. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $590.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $500.00 price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $653.00 target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Weiss Ratings upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Duncan McKechnie sold 1,541 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $519.00, for a total value of $799,779.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 11,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,709,519. The trade was a 12.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 596 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $482.50, for a total value of $287,570.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 15,337 shares in the company, valued at $7,400,102.50. This trade represents a 3.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 3,637 shares of company stock valued at $1,874,834. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bangor Savings Bank grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 4,470 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,220,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 793 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $394,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Cannell & Spears LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Cannell & Spears LLC now owns 1,983 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $885,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Glenview Trust Co lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Glenview Trust Co now owns 7,005 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $3,176,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.9% during the first quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC now owns 510 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $228,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $516.34 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $131.05 billion, a PE ratio of 30.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.32. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $374.17 and a 52-week high of $560.25. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $511.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $473.92.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.73 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.74 by ($0.01). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.00% and a return on equity of 23.09%. The company had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.52 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 16.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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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