Oppenheimer Reaffirms Outperform Rating for Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "outperform" rating restated by investment analysts at Oppenheimer in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $500.00 target price on the pharmaceutical company's stock. Oppenheimer's target price would indicate a potential upside of 25.83% from the company's previous close.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on VRTX. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $456.00 to $508.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $440.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $424.62.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX traded up $0.81 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $397.36. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,373,651 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,261,933. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $316.43 and a 12-month high of $448.40. The company has a current ratio of 3.99, a quick ratio of 3.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The firm has a market cap of $102.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.35. The business's 50 day moving average is $416.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $396.14.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.85 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $2.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 21.91% and a net margin of 36.68%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 14.95 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Amit Sachdev sold 3,222 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,364 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $31,250,727.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Amit Sachdev sold 3,222 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total value of $1,354,013.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 74,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,250,727.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Kristen Ambrose sold 1,374 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total value of $577,409.76. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,676 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,066,242.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,381 shares of company stock valued at $5,203,249. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital World Investors increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,805,770 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $8,872,586,000 after buying an additional 3,824,103 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,237,877,000. Macquarie Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 232.3% during the second quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 933,179 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $262,961,000 after purchasing an additional 652,321 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 33.1% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,578,444 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $744,603,000 after purchasing an additional 640,899 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2,272.6% during the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 434,874 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $176,946,000 after purchasing an additional 416,545 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.