Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) PT Raised to $450.00 at Guggenheim

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) had its target price boosted by Guggenheim from $445.00 to $450.00 in a research report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. Guggenheim currently has a buy rating on the pharmaceutical company's stock.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on VRTX. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a neutral rating to an underperform rating and set a $325.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. They issued an outperform rating and a $515.00 target price for the company. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a sell rating and issued a $371.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $429.45.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX traded up $0.38 during trading on Thursday, hitting $393.48. 948,866 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,245,130. The company has a market cap of $101.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.33, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.35. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $316.43 and a 1 year high of $448.40. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $414.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $396.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 3.99 and a quick ratio of 3.78.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.85 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $2.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 36.68% and a return on equity of 21.91%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.33 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 15.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 354 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.70, for a total value of $150,697.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,804 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,755,762.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 354 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.70, for a total value of $150,697.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,804 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,755,762.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Amit Sachdev sold 3,222 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total value of $1,354,013.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,364 shares in the company, valued at $31,250,727.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,381 shares of company stock worth $5,203,249 in the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 65.3% in the third quarter. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC now owns 2,645 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $920,000 after buying an additional 1,045 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.5% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 432,937 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $150,550,000 after buying an additional 26,523 shares during the period. Telos Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,073 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $6,133,000 after buying an additional 237 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.3% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 427,001 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $148,485,000 after purchasing an additional 5,514 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Machina Capital S.A.S. bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth $816,000. 90.96% of the stock is 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.