Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Price Target Increased to $550.00 by Analysts at Oppenheimer

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) had its price target boosted by Oppenheimer from $500.00 to $550.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the pharmaceutical company’s stock.

VRTX has been the topic of several other research reports. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $535.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Friday. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $371.00 to $376.00 and gave the company a sell rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $424.00 to $421.00 and set a sector perform rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Barclays lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and upped their target price for the company from $472.00 to $509.00 in a research note on Monday. Finally, Guggenheim upped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $558.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $485.91.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ VRTX traded down $2.62 on Monday, hitting $474.29. 1,626,006 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,220,707. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $479.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $440.12. The firm has a market cap of $122.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.78 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 3.50 and a quick ratio of 3.29. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $340.68 and a fifty-two week high of $510.64.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported ($12.83) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($12.54) by ($0.29). The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.66 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.36% and a negative net margin of 4.74%. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.53 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -1.04 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 2,350 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $439.11, for a total value of $1,031,908.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 53,523 shares in the company, valued at $23,502,484.53. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 2,350 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $439.11, for a total transaction of $1,031,908.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 53,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,502,484.53. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 5,295 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $508.00, for a total value of $2,689,860.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 40,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,320,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 53,423 shares of company stock worth $25,528,865 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Koss Olinger Consulting LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth approximately $404,000. Caprock Group LLC raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1,214.7% during the second quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 37,930 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $17,779,000 after purchasing an additional 35,045 shares in the last quarter. Certuity LLC raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 10.5% during the second quarter. Certuity LLC now owns 4,519 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,118,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. Custom Index Systems LLC raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 7.6% during the second quarter. Custom Index Systems LLC now owns 1,357 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $636,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 18.3% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 21,091 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $9,875,000 after purchasing an additional 3,257 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.96% 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.