Wells Fargo & Company Upgrades Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) to Overweight

Key Points

• Wells Fargo & Company has upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating, setting a target price of $460.00, indicating a potential upside of approximately 22.67%.
• Despite the upgrade from Wells Fargo, other firms like Wolfe Research and HC Wainwright have recently downgraded their ratings or price targets on Vertex, highlighting a mixed outlook among analysts.
• Vertex Pharmaceuticals reported $4.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the last quarter, surpassing estimates and showing an 11.3% year-over-year revenue increase.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research note issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm presently has a $460.00 target price on the pharmaceutical company's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's target price points to a potential upside of 23.59% from the company's current price.

VRTX has been the topic of a number of other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $515.00 to $517.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $430.00 to $405.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Leerink Partnrs lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $442.00 to $438.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $497.10.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock traded down $3.44 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $372.20. 444,383 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,617,303. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $372.35 and a 52-week high of $519.88. The stock has a market cap of $95.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.62 and a beta of 0.44. The firm's 50 day moving average is $452.30 and its 200 day moving average is $465.93.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.28. The firm 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%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($12.83) earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Bruce I. Sachs acquired 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $389.68 per share, for a total transaction of $1,948,400.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 45,000 shares in the company, valued at $17,535,600. This represents a 12.50% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Vertex Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Activest Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 450.0% during the 1st quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 55 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Access Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.