Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Forecasted to Earn Q1 2024 Earnings of $3.73 Per Share

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) – Equities researchers at William Blair raised their Q1 2024 earnings estimates for shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, April 17th. William Blair analyst M. Minter now anticipates that the pharmaceutical company will post earnings per share of $3.73 for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $3.70. William Blair currently has a “Outperform” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Vertex Pharmaceuticals’ current full-year earnings is $14.95 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Vertex Pharmaceuticals’ FY2025 earnings at $17.85 EPS.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on VRTX. Barclays raised their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $446.00 to $472.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $498.00 to $466.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $440.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $371.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $429.45.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.2 %

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $394.28 on Thursday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $316.43 and a 1-year high of $448.40. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $413.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $397.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 3.99 and a quick ratio of 3.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.39, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.35.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.85 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $2.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 36.68% and a return on equity of 21.91%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.33 earnings per share.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 65.3% in the 3rd quarter. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC now owns 2,645 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $920,000 after acquiring an additional 1,045 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.5% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 432,937 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $150,550,000 after purchasing an additional 26,523 shares during the last quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,073 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $6,133,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.3% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 427,001 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $148,485,000 after buying an additional 5,514 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Machina Capital S.A.S. acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth $816,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 2,656 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $419.51, for a total transaction of $1,114,218.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 27,644 shares in the company, valued at $11,596,934.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 2,656 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $419.51, for a total transaction of $1,114,218.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 27,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,596,934.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Stuart A. Arbuckle sold 4,295 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total value of $1,804,930.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 75,718 shares in the company, valued at $31,819,732.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,381 shares of company stock worth $5,203,249 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.20% 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.