Bank of America Lowers Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Price Target to $541.00

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) had its target price decreased by Bank of America from $550.00 to $541.00 in a research note released on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the pharmaceutical company’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on VRTX. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $550.00 target price (up previously from $508.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $431.00 to $425.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Raymond James restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $371.00 to $376.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $492.92.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 2.4 %

VRTX stock opened at $498.73 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $128.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -245.68 and a beta of 0.40. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $474.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $459.08. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $341.90 and a 12 month high of $510.64. The company has a current ratio of 2.52, a quick ratio of 2.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported ($12.83) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($12.54) by ($0.29). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.74% and a negative return on equity of 2.45%. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.66 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.53 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $323,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,435 shares in the company, valued at $2,217,500. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $323,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,217,500. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Reshma Kewalramani sold 15,202 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $497.00, for a total transaction of $7,555,394.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 106,172 shares in the company, valued at $52,767,484. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 29,487 shares of company stock worth $14,657,149 over the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 16.2% during the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 560 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $260,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 1,116 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $519,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,186 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,482,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. Claro Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 24.1% during the 3rd quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 2,425 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,128,000 after acquiring an additional 471 shares during the period. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.0% in the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 3,697 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,719,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.