Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Given a $530.00 Price Target by BMO Capital Markets Analysts

Key Points

• BMO Capital Markets has lowered its price target for Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $557.00 to $530.00 while maintaining an "outperform" rating, suggesting a potential upside of 12.22% from the previous close.
• Fourteen analysts currently hold a "hold" rating for Vertex, with an average target price of $499.53, indicating cautious optimism about the company's stock.
• Vertex Pharmaceuticals reported $4.52 earnings per share for the last quarter, beating estimates and showing an 11.3% increase in revenue year-over-year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) has been given a $530.00 target price by analysts at BMO Capital Markets in a research report issued on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has an "outperform" rating on the pharmaceutical company's stock. BMO Capital Markets' target price indicates a potential upside of 37.43% from the company's previous close.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on VRTX. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $442.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley set a $439.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $420.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $497.10.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of VRTX opened at $385.65 on Tuesday. The company's 50-day moving average is $453.73 and its 200-day moving average is $466.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.52 and a quick ratio of 2.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.03 billion, a PE ratio of 27.57 and a beta of 0.44. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $372.35 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $2.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.90 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.91% and a net margin of 31.86%. The business's revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($12.83) earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Vertex Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,783,000 after acquiring an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth about $3,731,000. Polymer Capital Management US LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $329,000. Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 581,181 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $234,042,000 after purchasing an additional 23,964 shares during the period. Finally, Shelton Capital Management increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Shelton Capital Management now owns 54,631 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $22,000,000 after purchasing an additional 647 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.