Brokerages Set Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) PT at $570.83

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-three brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twenty have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $570.8261.

VRTX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, June 28th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $500.00 price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $543.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $436.00 to $442.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $524.99, for a total value of $787,485.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 45,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,793,071.79. This represents a 3.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 596 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $482.50, for a total value of $287,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 15,337 shares in the company, valued at $7,400,102.50. The trade was a 3.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,637 shares of company stock worth $1,874,834. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Capstone Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth about $215,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 12.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 16,729 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $8,310,000 after acquiring an additional 1,831 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.9% in the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 95,685 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $47,530,000 after purchasing an additional 3,604 shares in the last quarter. IPG Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.9% during the second quarter. IPG Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,339 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,155,000 after purchasing an additional 836 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 128.9% in the 2nd quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 451 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $224,000 after buying an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $508.34 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $129.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.32. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $374.17 and a 52 week high of $560.25. The company has a fifty day moving average of $511.81 and a 200 day moving average of $474.07.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.73 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.74 by ($0.01). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.09% and a net margin of 35.00%.The business had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.52 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 16.69 EPS for the current year.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated is a global biotechnology company focused on developing and commercializing medicines for serious diseases. Founded in 1989 and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, the company combines research in human genetics with drug discovery and development.

Vertex is best known for its cystic fibrosis portfolio, which includes CFTR modulator therapies such as Kalydeco, Orkambi, Symdeko and the combination marketed as Trikafta in the United States and Kaftrio in other markets.