Wall Street Zen Downgrades Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) to Hold

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Truist Financial initiated coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $542.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $495.00 to $558.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $575.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $590.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Twenty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $555.91.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX opened at $447.54 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $439.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $451.64. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $362.50 and a one year high of $507.92. The stock has a market cap of $113.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.23. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.86% and a net margin of 35.51%.The company had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.06 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 16.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 6,988 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $3,144,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 26,088 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,739,600. This represents a 21.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 318 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.73, for a total value of $134,746.14. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,924 shares in the company, valued at $2,086,446.52. This trade represents a 6.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 11,717 shares of company stock worth $5,309,945. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,783,000 after acquiring an additional 579 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth $228,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 9.0% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 11,929 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,311,000 after acquiring an additional 986 shares during the period. ICW Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.0% during the second quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 604 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $269,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the period. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 26.3% during the second quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,291 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,246,000 after acquiring an additional 1,518 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.