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

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) was downgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the company. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Argus raised their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $465.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $402.00 to $455.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $545.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $371.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $460.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of VRTX traded up $3.00 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $495.26. 773,769 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,207,826. The company has a quick ratio of 3.29, a current ratio of 3.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $127.80 billion, a PE ratio of 32.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.39. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $340.20 and a fifty-two week high of $503.99. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $474.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $437.29.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 6th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.66 by $1.10. The business had revenue of $2.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.08% and a net margin of 39.46%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.67 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 15.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 7,073 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $448.00, for a total transaction of $3,168,704.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 40,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,920,000. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Reshma Kewalramani sold 1,565 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $457.00, for a total value of $715,205.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 121,374 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,467,918. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 7,073 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $448.00, for a total value of $3,168,704.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,920,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 48,128 shares of company stock worth $22,839,005. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital World Investors boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 25,567,184 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $10,687,339,000 after purchasing an additional 3,761,414 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,676,518 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $9,479,011,000 after purchasing an additional 394,338 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 61.0% during 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 acquiring an additional 2,176,218 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.2% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,782,374 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,999,080,000 after acquiring an additional 837,461 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth $1,237,877,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.