Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Cut to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Thursday morning.

VRTX has been the topic of a number of other reports. Raymond James reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, October 10th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Scotiabank increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $480.00 to $486.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $472.00 to $509.00 in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $541.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $504.38.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $450.97 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a current ratio of 2.47. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $346.29 and a 52-week high of $519.88. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $474.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $473.74. The stock has a market cap of $116.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -226.62 and a beta of 0.39.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.77. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.69 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.52% and a negative return on equity of 1.91%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.67 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total transaction of $1,888,216.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 9,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,987,006. The trade was a 27.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $323,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,435 shares in the company, valued at $2,217,500. This trade represents a 12.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 4,445 shares of company stock valued at $2,218,394. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of VRTX. Groesbeck Investment Management Corp NJ grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Groesbeck Investment Management Corp NJ now owns 1,794 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $841,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 3,710 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,751,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. now owns 3,586 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,681,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.0% in the second quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,101 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $516,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, Daymark Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.8% during the third quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 804 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $374,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during 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.