Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Lowered to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Saturday.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on VRTX. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an overweight rating and set a $440.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. HC Wainwright boosted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $457.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $498.00 to $466.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $445.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an outperform rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $429.45.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $404.91 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 3.99, a quick ratio of 3.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $413.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $398.36. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $316.43 and a 1-year high of $448.40. The stock has a market cap of $104.65 billion, a PE ratio of 29.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.35.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.85 by $0.35. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 21.91% and a net margin of 36.68%. The company had revenue of $2.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.33 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 14.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Amit Sachdev sold 3,222 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total value of $1,354,013.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,250,727.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Amit Sachdev sold 3,222 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total transaction of $1,354,013.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,250,727.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 354 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.70, for a total value of $150,697.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,804 shares in the company, valued at $23,755,762.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,381 shares of company stock worth $5,203,249. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth about $25,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 97.1% in the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 67 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.