Scotiabank Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Stock Price

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) had its target price cut by stock analysts at Scotiabank from $450.00 to $442.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "sector perform" rating on the pharmaceutical company's stock. Scotiabank's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 2.02% from the company's current price.

Several other research firms also recently commented on VRTX. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $533.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $460.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday. Truist Financial upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $515.04.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 13.4 %

VRTX stock traded down $66.96 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $433.23. The company had a trading volume of 4,195,954 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,357,018. The stock has a market cap of $111.38 billion, a PE ratio of -197.06, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.51. The business has a 50-day moving average of $492.42 and a 200-day moving average of $466.91. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $377.85 and a one year high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.76 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,256,000. This trade represents a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Somerville Kurt F boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 12.2% during the 1st quarter. Somerville Kurt F now owns 22,876 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $11,091,000 after acquiring an additional 2,484 shares during the last quarter. Loudon Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth $235,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 112.6% during the 1st quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,079 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,008,000 after buying an additional 1,101 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 87,741 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $42,539,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Guidance Capital Inc. increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 8.3% in the first quarter. Guidance Capital Inc. now owns 2,275 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,140,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently 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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