Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Given New $464.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) had its price target hoisted by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $462.00 to $464.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "equal weight" rating on the pharmaceutical company's stock. Morgan Stanley's price objective points to a potential upside of 6.33% from the stock's current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on VRTX. StockNews.com raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company cut 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 research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $512.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $515.26.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

VRTX stock traded down $63.80 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $436.40. The stock had a trading volume of 3,837,757 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,355,742. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $377.85 and a 52 week high of $519.88. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $492.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $466.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $112.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -198.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.51.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.06 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.23). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 4.86%. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.76 earnings per share. Vertex Pharmaceuticals's revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total transaction of $111,034.64. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,805,286.70. This trade represents a 0.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $1,615,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,256,000. This trade represents a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,315 shares of company stock valued at $2,121,012 over the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vertex Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VRTX. Somerville Kurt F raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 12.2% in the 1st quarter. Somerville Kurt F now owns 22,876 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $11,091,000 after buying an additional 2,484 shares during the last quarter. Loudon Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter worth $235,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 112.6% during the first quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,079 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,008,000 after purchasing an additional 1,101 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.9% in the first quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 87,741 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $42,539,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Guidance Capital Inc. increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 8.3% in the 1st quarter. Guidance Capital Inc. now owns 2,275 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,140,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by 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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