Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) had its price objective hoisted by analysts at Bank of America from $180.00 to $197.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the pharmaceutical company’s stock. Bank of America’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 17.99% from the stock’s current price.
VRTX has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Zacks Investment Research downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 24th. Deutsche Bank initiated coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, December 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $175.00 target price for the company. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Piper Jaffray Companies reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $205.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, October 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, October 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twenty-five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.71.
Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ VRTX) traded up $0.10 during trading on Thursday, reaching $166.97. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,457,077 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,824,681. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $84.39 and a 12 month high of $174.96. The company has a current ratio of 3.28, a quick ratio of 3.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $42,118.43, a P/E ratio of 213.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.58.
Vertex Pharmaceuticals declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, January 31st that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the pharmaceutical company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.
In related news, COO Ian F. Smith sold 6,405 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $960,750.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Amit Sachdev sold 15,085 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $2,564,450.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 54,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,222,160. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 404,821 shares of company stock valued at $61,852,360 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.
A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 19.0% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 6,017,766 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $914,941,000 after purchasing an additional 962,644 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 8,061.1% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 909,230 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $138,239,000 after purchasing an additional 898,089 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 9,422.3% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 893,380 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $135,829,000 after buying an additional 883,998 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1,191.3% in the 2nd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 448,975 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $57,860,000 after buying an additional 414,206 shares during the period. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 88.1% in the 2nd quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 459,059 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $59,159,000 after buying an additional 215,062 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.15% of the company’s stock.
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About Vertex Pharmaceuticals
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated is engaged in discovering, developing, manufacturing and commercializing medicines for serious diseases. The Company is focused on developing and commercializing therapies for the treatment of cystic fibrosis (CF) and advancing its research and development programs in other indications.
