Scotiabank Cuts Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Price Target to $442.00

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) had its price objective reduced by Scotiabank from $450.00 to $442.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a “sector perform” rating on the pharmaceutical company’s stock. Scotiabank’s price target suggests a potential upside of 1.65% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Leerink Partners restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $503.00 target price (down previously from $550.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets set a $545.00 target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday. Canaccord Genuity Group raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $408.00 to $424.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $533.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $515.04.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $434.82 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $491.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $466.58. The stock has a market cap of $111.78 billion, a P/E ratio of -197.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.51. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $377.85 and a 12-month high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.06 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.23). The business had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.85 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. The company’s revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.76 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 310 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.83, for a total value of $142,547.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 64,021 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,438,776.43. The trade was a 0.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $1,615,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,256,000. The trade was a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,315 shares of company stock valued at $2,121,012 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vertex Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 30.3% in the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 99 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, a biotechnology company, engages in developing and commercializing therapies for treating cystic fibrosis (CF). It markets TRIKAFTA/KAFTRIO for people with CF with at least one F508del mutation for 2 years of age or older; SYMDEKO/SYMKEVI for people with CF for 6 years of age or older; ORKAMBI for CF patients 1 year or older; and KALYDECO for the treatment of patients with 1 year or older who have CF with ivacaftor.