Vertex Pharmaceuticals - VRTX Stock Forecast, Price & News

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, a biotechnology company, engages in developing and commercializing therapies for treating cystic fibrosis. The company markets SYMDEKO/SYMKEVI, ORKAMBI, and KALYDECO to treat patients with cystic fibrosis who have specific mutations in their cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator gene; and TRIKAFTA for the treatment of patients with CF 6 years of age or older who have at least one F508del mutation. Its pipeline includes VX-864 for the treatment of AAT deficiency, which is in Phase 2 clinical trial; VX-147 for the treatment of APOL1-mediated focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, or FSGS, and other serious kidney diseases which is in Phase 2 clinical trial; VX- 880, treatment for Type 1 Diabetes which is in Phase 1/2 clinical trial; VX-548, a NaV1.8 inhibitor for treatments of acute, neuropathic, musculoskeletal pain which is in Phase 2 clinical trial; and CTX001 for the treatment severe SCD and TDT which is in Phase 3 clinical trial. The company sells its products primarily to specialty pharmacy and specialty distributors in the United States, as well as specialty distributors and retail chains, and hospitals and clinics internationally. It has collaborations with Affinia Therapeutics, Inc.; Arbor Biotechnologies, Inc.; CRISPR Therapeutics AG.; Kymera Therapeutics, Inc.; Mammoth Biosciences, Inc.; Moderna, Inc.; Obsidian Therapeutics, Inc.; and Skyhawk Therapeutics, Inc.; as well as Ribometrix, Inc.; Genomics plc; Merck KGaA; Darmstadt, Germany, and X-Chem, Inc. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $298.83 on Wednesday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $176.36 and a 1-year high of $301.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 3.84 and a quick ratio of 3.72. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $278.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $262.00. The company has a market capitalization of $76.43 billion, a PE ratio of 24.16, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.45.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.12 by $0.48. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 31.22% and a net margin of 38.26%. The company had revenue of $2.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.13 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.80 EPS. Vertex Pharmaceuticals's revenue for the quarter was up 22.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 12.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on VRTX. SVB Leerink began coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, May 23rd. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $265.00 price target for the company. Maxim Group raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $325.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 1st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $250.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday. UBS Group raised their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $258.00 to $325.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 13th. Finally, Cowen raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $305.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Monday, June 13th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $290.05.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 132,079 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.38, for a total value of $37,164,389.02. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 2,423 shares in the company, valued at approximately $681,783.74. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 621 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $278.77, for a total value of $173,116.17. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,282 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,472,463.14. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 132,079 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.38, for a total value of $37,164,389.02. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 2,423 shares of the company's stock, valued at $681,783.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 162,254 shares of company stock worth $45,899,243. 0.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.