Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Earns "Outperform" Rating from William Blair

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "outperform" rating reissued by equities researchers at William Blair in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,RTT News reports.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on VRTX. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $460.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $512.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets set a $545.00 price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $435.00 to $467.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $515.04.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 13.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX traded down $67.90 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $432.30. 4,376,942 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,358,046. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 2.35. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $492.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $466.91. The stock has a market cap of $111.13 billion, a P/E ratio of -196.36, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.51. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $377.85 and a 1-year high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.23). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.76 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total transaction of $111,034.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 67,695 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,805,286.70. This trade represents a 0.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $1,615,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,256,000. This represents a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 46.2% during the 1st quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 95 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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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