Wall Street Zen Upgrades Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) to "Buy"

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from “hold” to “buy,” adding to a generally positive analyst outlook. The stock now carries a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $555.91.
• Vertex reported stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings, posting EPS of $4.47 versus the $4.24 estimate while revenue came in at $2.99 billion, in line with expectations. Revenue also rose 8.3% year over year.
• Institutional ownership remains very high at 90.96%, even as insiders have recently sold shares, including director Sangeeta N. Bhatia and CMO Carmen Bozic. Over the past 90 days, insiders sold 15,195 shares worth about $6.8 million.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on VRTX. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $607.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $577.00 to $572.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $580.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Twenty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $555.91.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX opened at $451.63 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $438.71 and a 200-day moving average of $453.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $114.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.79, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.30. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $362.50 and a 12 month high of $507.92.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.23. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.51% and a return on equity of 23.86%. The business had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.06 earnings per share. Vertex Pharmaceuticals's quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 17.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 318 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.73, for a total value of $134,746.14. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,924 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,086,446.52. This represents a 6.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 4,062 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total transaction of $1,827,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 16,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,628,850. This represents a 19.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 15,195 shares of company stock worth $6,801,006. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 579 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at approximately $228,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 9.0% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 11,929 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $5,311,000 after purchasing an additional 986 shares during the last quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.0% in the second quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 604 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $269,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 26.3% in the second quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,291 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $3,246,000 after purchasing an additional 1,518 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company's stock.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc is a Boston-based biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of therapies for serious diseases. Founded in 1989, Vertex built its reputation on research-driven drug development and is best known for its work in cystic fibrosis (CF), where its portfolio of small-molecule CFTR modulators transformed standards of care for many people with the disease. The company operates research and development, manufacturing and commercial organizations and serves patients and healthcare systems in multiple international markets.

Vertex's marketed products center on CFTR modulators that target the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis rather than just treating symptoms.

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