Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Vertex Pharmaceuticals has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from 27 brokerages, with an average twelve-month price target of $497.10.
• Key institutional investors have recently increased their stakes in Vertex, leading to a total insider ownership of 0.20% of the company's stock.
• Vertex reported $4.52 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates and indicating an 11.3% year-over-year revenue growth to $2.94 billion.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-seven research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, thirteen have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $497.10.

A number of brokerages have commented on VRTX. Leerink Partnrs cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Wolfe Research cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $485.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $424.00 to $411.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Bruce I. Sachs acquired 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $389.68 per share, for a total transaction of $1,948,400.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 45,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,535,600. This represents a 12.50% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Activest Wealth Management purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 450.0% during the 1st quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 55 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Access Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

VRTX opened at $395.92 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.30 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a fifty day moving average of $447.18 and a 200 day moving average of $464.48. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $362.50 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.28. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 23.91%. The company had revenue of $2.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.90 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted ($12.83) earnings per share. Vertex Pharmaceuticals's quarterly revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

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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