Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Upgraded at Truist Financial

Truist Financial upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. 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 lifted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $445.00 to $466.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $590.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $571.00 to $598.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $554.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 4.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $433.07 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $469.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $441.91. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $362.50 and a 12-month high of $510.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $110.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.31.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The pharmaceutical company reported $5.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $3.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.18 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 24.30% and a net margin of 32.94%.The company’s revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.98 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Amit Sachdev sold 58,613 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $468.83, for a total value of $27,479,532.79. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 58,934 shares in the company, valued at $27,630,027.22. This trade represents a 49.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 4,500 shares of the company’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 sale, the executive vice president owned 42,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,088,752.07. This trade represents a 9.62% 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 Trading of Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Swiss RE Ltd. acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Chesapeake Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 277.8% during the 4th quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 68 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

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.