Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-six brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $522.6842.

VRTX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Leerink Partners upped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $456.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $455.00 to $546.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $474.99, for a total transaction of $2,137,455.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 42,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,088,752.07. The trade was a 9.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 63,781 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $449.20, for a total transaction of $28,650,425.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 24,026 shares in the company, valued at $10,792,479.20. This represents a 72.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 165,105 shares of company stock worth $73,858,523 over the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VRTX. Chesapeake Asset Management LLC raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 110.0% in the 3rd quarter. Chesapeake Asset Management LLC now owns 63 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Access Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Colonial Trust Co SC grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 118.8% in the 3rd quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 70 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 1.1%

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $470.52 on Thursday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $362.50 and a 12-month high of $519.68. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $456.21 and its 200 day moving average is $427.39. The company has a market capitalization of $119.38 billion, a PE ratio of 33.18 and a beta of 0.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.58 by $0.22. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 31.35% and a return on equity of 23.51%. The business had revenue of $3.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.38 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc is a Boston-based biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of therapies for serious diseases. Founded in 1989, Vertex built its reputation on research-driven drug development and is best known for its work in cystic fibrosis (CF), where its portfolio of small-molecule CFTR modulators transformed standards of care for many people with the disease. The company operates research and development, manufacturing and commercial organizations and serves patients and healthcare systems in multiple international markets.

Vertex’s marketed products center on CFTR modulators that target the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis rather than just treating symptoms.