Brokerages Set Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Target Price at $432.18

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-five research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have given a hold recommendation and fifteen have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $432.18.

VRTX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “sell” rating and set a $371.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, April 12th. Robert W. Baird cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $325.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $390.00 to $438.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Maxim Group cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $456.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 7th.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

VRTX opened at $450.80 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $412.50 and a 200 day moving average of $406.09. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $320.01 and a 52-week high of $453.71. The company has a quick ratio of 3.29, a current ratio of 3.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The stock has a market cap of $116.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.25, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.39.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 6th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.66 by $1.10. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.08% and a net margin of 39.46%. The company had revenue of $2.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.67 EPS. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 15.28 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 354 shares of the firm’s 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 directly owns 55,804 shares in the company, valued at $23,755,762.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,293 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $933,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. now owns 636 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $259,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,932 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,193,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Johnson Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,001 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $407,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Finally, Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC now owns 800 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $326,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is currently 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.