Leerink Partnrs Has Positive Forecast for VRTX Q2 Earnings

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) - Leerink Partnrs upped their Q2 2025 earnings per share estimates for shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, May 6th. Leerink Partnrs analyst D. Risinger now forecasts that the pharmaceutical company will post earnings per share of $3.78 for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $3.58. Leerink Partnrs currently has a "Hold" rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Vertex Pharmaceuticals' current full-year earnings is $15.63 per share. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for Vertex Pharmaceuticals' Q3 2025 earnings at $4.28 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $4.70 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $16.24 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $17.60 EPS.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Scotiabank cut their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $442.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. BMO Capital Markets set a $545.00 price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $535.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $462.00 to $464.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $515.04.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX traded down $7.37 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $432.00. 2,645,542 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,398,935. 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 twelve month low of $377.85 and a twelve month high of $519.88. The company has a market cap of $110.94 billion, a PE ratio of -196.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.51. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $487.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $465.56.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.85 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.76 EPS. Vertex Pharmaceuticals's revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total value of $111,034.64. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,695 shares in the company, valued at $30,805,286.70. This represents a 0.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $1,615,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at $13,256,000. This represents a 10.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,005 shares of company stock worth $1,978,465 over the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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

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.