Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Cut to Peer Perform at Wolfe Research

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wolfe Research from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on VRTX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $512.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $533.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Leerink Partnrs lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $442.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $515.04.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX traded down $4.30 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $425.30. The stock had a trading volume of 1,641,219 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,389,826. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $488.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $465.90. The company has a market capitalization of $109.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -193.32, 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. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.85 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.76 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,256,000. This trade represents a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 310 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.83, for a total transaction of $142,547.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 64,021 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,438,776.43. This trade represents a 0.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 4,315 shares of company stock valued at $2,121,012. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 30.3% during the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 99 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company's stock.

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.