Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Given New $456.00 Price Target at Piper Sandler

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) had its price target increased by Piper Sandler from $450.00 to $456.00 in a research report released on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the pharmaceutical company’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. William Blair reissued an outperform rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $397.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an overweight rating and issued a $440.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Evercore ISI upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an in-line rating to an outperform rating and set a $438.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $445.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $432.18.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $410.24 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 3.99 and a quick ratio of 3.78. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $320.01 and a 12 month high of $448.40. The business has a 50-day moving average of $408.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $400.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $106.03 billion, a PE ratio of 29.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.39.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 6th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.66 by $1.10. The company had revenue of $2.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 21.91% and a net margin of 36.68%. The firm’s revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.67 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 14.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 354 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.70, for a total transaction of $150,697.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 55,804 shares in the company, valued at $23,755,762.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 75,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,819,732.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 354 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.70, for a total transaction of $150,697.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,804 shares in the company, valued at $23,755,762.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 12,381 shares of company stock worth $5,203,249. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Qsemble Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter valued at about $3,026,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.0% in the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,189 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,931,000 after acquiring an additional 543 shares during the last quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 9.6% during the 1st quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. now owns 1,141 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $477,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Donoghue Forlines LLC lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 168.4% in the 1st quarter. Donoghue Forlines LLC now owns 3,757 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,570,000 after purchasing an additional 2,357 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 8.8% during the first quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 3,998 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,671,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. 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.