FY2027 Earnings Forecast for VRTX Issued By Erste Group Bank

Key Points

• Erste Group Bank trimmed its FY2027 earnings forecast for Vertex Pharmaceuticals to $19.36 per share, down slightly from $19.46. That estimate still sits above the current consensus of $16.96 per share.
• Vertex recently beat quarterly expectations, reporting $4.47 EPS versus the $4.24 consensus, while revenue came in at $2.99 billion, up 8.3% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive overall, with Vertex carrying a Moderate Buy rating and an average price target of $555.17 despite some mixed rating changes from major firms.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) - Research analysts at Erste Group Bank dropped their FY2027 earnings per share estimates for shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report issued on Tuesday, May 12th. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now forecasts that the pharmaceutical company will earn $19.36 per share for the year, down from their previous estimate of $19.46. The consensus estimate for Vertex Pharmaceuticals' current full-year earnings is $16.96 per share.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.23. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.86% and a net margin of 35.51%.The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.06 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis.

VRTX has been the subject of several other reports. Truist Financial raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $445.00 to $466.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $575.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $545.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $590.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $555.17.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX opened at $450.41 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $362.50 and a fifty-two week high of $507.92. The company has a market cap of $114.31 billion, a PE ratio of 26.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.30. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $446.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $450.49.

Institutional Trading of Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Dempze Nancy E lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 10.7% in the first quarter. Dempze Nancy E now owns 7,810 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $3,487,000 after acquiring an additional 752 shares in the last quarter. Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 37.7% in the 1st quarter. Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC now owns 731 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $326,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 1,109 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $503,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Cannell & Spears LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% during the first quarter. Cannell & Spears LLC now owns 1,983 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $885,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.4% during the first quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 108,251 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $48,338,000 after buying an additional 20,523 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Joy Liu sold 1,104 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.02, for a total transaction of $469,222.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 20,729 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,810,239.58. This represents a 5.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Jonathan Biller sold 945 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $486.35, for a total value of $459,600.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 13,659 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,643,054.65. The trade was a 6.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 79,802 shares of company stock valued at $37,402,568 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

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.

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