Leerink Partnrs Downgrades Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) to Hold

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Leerink Partnrs from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $420.00 to $423.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $535.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $533.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Leerink Partners restated a "market perform" rating and set a $503.00 price objective (down previously from $550.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $515.04.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 11.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $442.08 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 2.35. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $377.85 and a 1 year high of $519.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $113.65 billion, a PE ratio of -204.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.51. The firm's 50-day moving average is $491.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $466.80.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.06 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.29 by ($0.23). The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.85 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 4.86%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.76 EPS. Analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total transaction of $111,034.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,695 shares in the company, valued at $30,805,286.70. This trade represents a 0.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at $1,374,948,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 60,572.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,425,070 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,175,722,000 after buying an additional 2,421,073 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $731,283,000. Capital World Investors boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 28,325,695 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $11,406,667,000 after acquiring an additional 1,514,993 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,428,951 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $4,199,713,000 after acquiring an additional 1,426,746 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.

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