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

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-nine ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twenty-three have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $554.3043.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on VRTX. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $571.00 to $598.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Citigroup upped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $575.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $445.00 to $466.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $546.00 to $541.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $540.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $453.74 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $115.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $469.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $441.65. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $362.50 and a 52-week high of $510.77.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The pharmaceutical company reported $5.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $3.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.18 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 32.94% and a return on equity of 24.30%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.98 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Key Vertex Pharmaceuticals News

Here are the key news stories impacting Vertex Pharmaceuticals this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Truist Financial upgraded Vertex to “strong-buy”, providing near-term analyst momentum and potential buying interest. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group raised its FY2027 EPS estimate for VRTX (to $19.48 from $19.31), signaling growing analyst confidence in Vertex’s longer-term earnings trajectory versus current consensus. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Headline coverage notes Vertex recently outperformed the market, reflecting short-term buying interest and positive sentiment among investors. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary pieces suggest recent volatility may present a buying opportunity for long-term investors, but these are opinion-driven and depend on risk tolerance and time horizon. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Maze Therapeutics reported positive Phase II data for an APOL1-targeted kidney drug — a potential rival to Vertex’s candidate — introducing competitive risk that could affect Vertex’s addressable market and future revenue assumptions. Read More.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $474.99, for a total value of $2,137,455.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 42,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,088,752.07. The trade was a 9.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Amit Sachdev sold 58,613 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $468.83, for a total transaction of $27,479,532.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 58,934 shares in the company, valued at $27,630,027.22. The trade was a 49.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 93,485 shares of company stock valued at $43,967,586. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 650 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $295,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 545 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $247,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. now owns 1,155 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $524,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. Childress Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 730 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $331,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 5,026 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,279,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.