Wall Street Zen Upgrades Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) to Buy

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) was upgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on VRTX. Barclays increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $615.00 to $617.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $653.00 target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. Truist Financial raised their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $560.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $665.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $579.81.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

VRTX opened at $499.74 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $126.83 billion, a PE ratio of 29.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.28. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $523.54 and its 200-day moving average is $480.81. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $403.16 and a one year high of $560.25.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.73 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.74 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $3.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.23 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.00% and a return on equity of 23.09%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.52 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 16.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth approximately $11,975,849,000. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,871,459 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,896,910,000 after acquiring an additional 141,320 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.1% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,247,658 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,613,209,000 after acquiring an additional 35,069 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.0% during the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,086,683 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,533,248,000 after acquiring an additional 29,287 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth $1,509,651,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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 applies expertise in the science of human disease to discover therapies that address significant unmet medical needs.

Vertex is best known for its cystic fibrosis portfolio, which includes Kalydeco, Orkambi, Symdeko/Symkevi, and Trikafta/Kaftrio. These medicines target the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis for patients with specific mutations in the CFTR gene.