Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy”, with 20 buy ratings, 5 hold ratings, and 1 strong buy. The average 1-year price target is about $555.17.
• The company reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, posting EPS of $4.47 versus estimates of $4.24, while revenue came in at $2.99 billion, in line with expectations. Revenue rose 8.3% year over year.
• Shares were down 3.0% and opened at $436.95, below recent analyst targets. Recent insider selling included EVP Joy Liu and Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia, while institutional investors continue to hold most of the stock.

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by the twenty-six analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twenty have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $555.1739.

VRTX has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Evercore lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $475.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $495.00 to $558.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $571.00 to $598.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $580.00 target price on the stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 3.0%

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $436.95 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $110.90 billion, a PE ratio of 25.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.30. The firm's 50 day moving average is $445.56 and its 200 day moving average is $450.40. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $362.50 and a 1 year high of $507.92.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.99 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.51% and a return on equity of 23.86%. The firm's revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.06 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 16.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Joy Liu sold 1,104 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.02, for a total transaction of $469,222.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 20,729 shares in the company, valued at $8,810,239.58. This trade represents a 5.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 318 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.73, for a total transaction of $134,746.14. Following the sale, the director owned 4,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,086,446.52. This represents a 6.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 79,802 shares of company stock worth $37,402,568 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,783,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $228,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 9.0% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 11,929 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $5,311,000 after purchasing an additional 986 shares during the period. ICW Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 604 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $269,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 26.3% in the 2nd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,291 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $3,246,000 after purchasing an additional 1,518 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc is a Boston-based biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of therapies for serious diseases. Founded in 1989, Vertex built its reputation on research-driven drug development and is best known for its work in cystic fibrosis (CF), where its portfolio of small-molecule CFTR modulators transformed standards of care for many people with the disease. The company operates research and development, manufacturing and commercial organizations and serves patients and healthcare systems in multiple international markets.

Vertex's marketed products center on CFTR modulators that target the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis rather than just treating symptoms.

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