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

Key Points

• Vertex Pharmaceuticals received a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating from 24 analysts, including 20 buys, three holds, and one strong buy. The average 12-month price target is $563.50.
• Vertex reported quarterly revenue of $3.33 billion, up 12.5% year over year and above expectations, while EPS of $4.73 narrowly missed the $4.74 consensus estimate.
• Insiders sold 10,464 shares worth approximately $4.96 million over the past 90 days, while institutional investors remain major shareholders, owning 90.96% of the company.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-four analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twenty have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $563.50.

VRTX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $543.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $436.00 to $442.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $500.00 price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $615.00 to $617.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 1,541 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $519.00, for a total value of $799,779.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 11,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,709,519. This represents a 12.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $524.99, for a total transaction of $787,485.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 45,321 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,793,071.79. This represents a 3.20% 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 10,464 shares of company stock valued at $4,959,397. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Community Financial Services Group LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 103.7% during the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 55 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Swiss RE Ltd. purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $548.05 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $139.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.90, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.30. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $374.17 and a fifty-two week high of $555.32. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $492.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $465.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.73 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.74 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.23 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.09% and a net margin of 35.00%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.52 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current year.

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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