Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Reaches New 52-Week High at $506.15

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $506.15 and last traded at $503.03, with a volume of 152419 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $498.15.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on VRTX. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, June 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $545.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $480.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Evercore ISI raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $438.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $371.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $540.00 to $555.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $460.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.7 %

The company’s 50-day moving average is $475.22 and its 200-day moving average is $437.98. The firm has a market cap of $129.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 3.29 and a current ratio of 3.50.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.66 by $1.10. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 39.46% and a return on equity of 23.08%. The company had revenue of $2.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.67 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Reshma Kewalramani sold 15,202 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $497.00, for a total transaction of $7,555,394.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 106,172 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,767,484. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Reshma Kewalramani sold 15,202 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $497.00, for a total value of $7,555,394.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 106,172 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,767,484. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,280 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $488.46, for a total transaction of $1,113,688.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 25,539 shares in the company, valued at $12,474,779.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 48,128 shares of company stock worth $22,839,005. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Telos Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,073 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $6,133,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 11.1% during the 1st quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 2,368 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $990,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.4% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 29,897 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $12,497,000 after purchasing an additional 3,999 shares in the last quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 216.3% during the 4th quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 4,830 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,965,000 after purchasing an additional 3,303 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greenwood Capital Associates LLC increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 11.3% during the 4th quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC now owns 25,345 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $10,313,000 after purchasing an additional 2,576 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.