Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) PT Lowered to $466.00 at UBS Group

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) had its price target cut by UBS Group from $498.00 to $466.00 in a report published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the pharmaceutical company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on VRTX. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. They issued an outperform rating and a $515.00 price objective for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Evercore ISI raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an in-line rating to an outperform rating and set a $438.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a sell rating and set a $371.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a neutral rating to an underperform rating and set a $325.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $429.45.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $394.28 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $101.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a quick ratio of 3.78, a current ratio of 3.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $316.43 and a 52 week high of $448.40. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $413.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $397.06.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.85 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $2.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 21.91% and a net margin of 36.68%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.33 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 14.95 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, COO Stuart A. Arbuckle sold 4,295 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total value of $1,804,930.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 75,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,819,732.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 354 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.70, for a total value of $150,697.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 55,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,755,762.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Stuart A. Arbuckle sold 4,295 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total value of $1,804,930.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 75,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,819,732.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,381 shares of company stock valued at $5,203,249. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 97.1% during the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 67 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. 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.