Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Citigroup Analyst Says

Key Points

• Citigroup analysts have raised their price target for Vertex Pharmaceuticals' stock from $550.00 to $575.00, suggesting a potential upside of 40.85% from its current price.
• Despite the positive outlook from Citigroup, other analysts have issued mixed reports, with some lowering their price targets significantly, reflecting varied confidence levels in the stock.
• Insider trading activity has been noted, with Director Bruce I. Sachs purchasing 5,000 shares at an average price of $389.68, indicating insider confidence in the company’s future performance.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) had its price target lifted by investment analysts at Citigroup from $550.00 to $575.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "buy" rating on the pharmaceutical company's stock. Citigroup's target price would suggest a potential upside of 40.85% from the company's current price.

VRTX has been the subject of several other research reports. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $558.00 to $546.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $515.00 to $517.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $485.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $430.00 to $405.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $442.00 to $438.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $493.81.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX traded up $4.04 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $408.25. The company's stock had a trading volume of 877,333 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,648,329. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $401.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $444.45. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $362.50 and a one year high of $519.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $104.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.18 and a beta of 0.43.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 23.91%. Vertex Pharmaceuticals's revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($12.83) earnings per share. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Bruce I. Sachs acquired 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $389.68 per share, for a total transaction of $1,948,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 45,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,535,600. This trade represents a 12.50% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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