StockNews.com Downgrades Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) to Buy

StockNews.com lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Tuesday morning.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on VRTX. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $445.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a sell rating and set a $371.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, April 12th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, February 15th. They issued an outperform rating and a $515.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a sector perform rating and issued a $424.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an outperform rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $438.62.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $483.04 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 3.50 and a quick ratio of 3.29. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $423.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $413.49. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $323.02 and a 1 year high of $486.42. The stock has a market cap of $124.65 billion, a PE ratio of 31.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.41.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.66 by $1.10. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 39.46% and a return on equity of 23.08%. The firm had revenue of $2.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.67 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 15.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 2,350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $439.11, for a total transaction of $1,031,908.50. Following the completion of 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,280 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $445.56, for a total transaction of $1,015,876.80. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 34,659 shares in the company, valued at $15,442,664.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 2,350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 53,523 shares in the company, valued at $23,502,484.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 16,518 shares of company stock valued at $7,409,762 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,805,770 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $8,872,586,000 after purchasing an additional 3,824,103 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,237,877,000. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 61.0% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,743,882 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,401,000,000 after purchasing an additional 2,176,218 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.2% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,782,374 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,999,080,000 after purchasing an additional 837,461 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter valued at about $277,317,000. 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.