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

Key Points

• Vertex Pharmaceuticals has received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from 27 analysts, with the average target price set at $497.10.
• The company reported earnings of $4.52 per share, exceeding the consensus estimate by $0.28, and revenue of $2.94 billion for the quarter.
• Insider trading was noted as Director Bruce I. Sachs purchased 5,000 shares of Vertex's stock, increasing his holdings by 12.50%.

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the twenty-seven analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $497.10.

VRTX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets set a $530.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. UBS Group set a $553.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley set a $439.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $460.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, HC Wainwright cut their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $478.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $396.12 on Monday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $428.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $456.22. The company has a market capitalization of $101.56 billion, a PE ratio of 28.31 and a beta of 0.44. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $362.50 and a 1-year high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.28. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 23.91%. The firm had revenue of $2.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($12.83) EPS. The company's revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Bruce I. Sachs acquired 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $389.68 per share, with a total value of $1,948,400.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 45,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,535,600. This trade represents a 12.50% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Vertex Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,973,777 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $10,673,126,000 after acquiring an additional 482,616 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.5% in the second quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 6,151,505 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,738,650,000 after buying an additional 1,089,063 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.9% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,928,747 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,627,135,000 after buying an additional 166,987 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 10.7% in the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,378,320 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,949,228,000 after buying an additional 424,808 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% in the second quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 3,813,378 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,697,716,000 after buying an additional 65,047 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company's stock.

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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