Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Price Target Increased to $535.00 by Analysts at Piper Sandler

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) had its target price increased by Piper Sandler from $500.00 to $535.00 in a report released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. Piper Sandler currently has an overweight rating on the pharmaceutical company’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on VRTX. Oppenheimer reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $500.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, April 15th. HC Wainwright boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $462.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $440.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $402.00 to $455.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $485.91.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

VRTX stock opened at $476.91 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.29, a current ratio of 3.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $340.68 and a twelve month high of $510.64. The business’s fifty day moving average is $479.25 and its 200-day moving average is $439.81. The company has a market cap of $123.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.95 and a beta of 0.39.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported ($12.83) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($12.54) by ($0.29). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.74% and a negative return on equity of 2.36%. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.66 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.53 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -1.04 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 2,350 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $439.11, for a total value of $1,031,908.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 53,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,502,484.53. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 2,350 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $439.11, for a total transaction of $1,031,908.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 53,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,502,484.53. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 7,073 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $448.00, for a total transaction of $3,168,704.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,920,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 53,423 shares of company stock worth $25,528,865. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 25,567,184 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $10,687,339,000 after purchasing an additional 3,761,414 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,676,518 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $9,479,011,000 after purchasing an additional 394,338 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 61.0% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,743,882 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,401,000,000 after purchasing an additional 2,176,218 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.2% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,782,374 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,999,080,000 after buying an additional 837,461 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $1,237,877,000. 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.