Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Upgraded by Leerink Partners to Outperform Rating

Key Points

• Vertex Pharmaceuticals was upgraded from a "market perform" to an "outperform" rating by Leerink Partners, with a target price of $456.00, suggesting a potential upside of 21.08%.
• Several analysts have adjusted their target prices on the stock recently, with most ratings being Buy or Hold, leading to an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $493.81.
• The company reported $4.52 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, and had revenues of $2.94 billion, marking an increase of 11.3% year over year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Leerink Partners from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a $456.00 price objective on the pharmaceutical company's stock, down from their prior price objective of $458.00. Leerink Partners' price objective suggests a potential upside of 21.08% from the company's current price.

VRTX has been the topic of several other reports. HC Wainwright dropped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $478.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley set a $439.00 target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $494.00 to $455.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $442.00 to $438.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $490.00 price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $493.81.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $376.62 on Thursday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $362.50 and a 1 year high of $519.88. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $409.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $448.13. The company has a market cap of $96.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.92 and a beta of 0.44.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.28. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.91% and a net margin of 31.86%.The company had revenue of $2.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($12.83) EPS. The business's revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Bruce I. Sachs bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $389.68 per share, with a total value of $1,948,400.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 45,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,535,600. This represents a 12.50% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vertex Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,593,974,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 60,572.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,425,070 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,175,722,000 after acquiring an additional 2,421,073 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 72.5% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,917,227 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,414,331,000 after acquiring an additional 1,226,527 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position 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 worth $2,738,650,000 after acquiring an additional 1,089,063 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth approximately $484,053,000. 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.

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