Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Price Target Lowered to $425.00 at Royal Bank of Canada

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) had its target price trimmed by Royal Bank of Canada from $431.00 to $425.00 in a research report released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a sector perform rating on the pharmaceutical company’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on VRTX. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $371.00 to $376.00 and gave the stock a sell rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $462.00 to $474.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Barclays lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and raised their target price for the company from $472.00 to $509.00 in a research note on Monday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $505.00 to $510.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $486.95.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of VRTX opened at $448.60 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $115.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.14 and a beta of 0.40. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $341.90 and a one year high of $510.64. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $476.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $455.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 2.52 and a quick ratio of 2.26.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported ($12.83) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($12.54) by ($0.29). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.45% and a negative net margin of 4.74%. The business had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.66 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.53 EPS. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $323,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,217,500. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $323,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,217,500. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,280 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.34, for a total transaction of $1,111,135.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 27,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,557,311.46. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 31,767 shares of company stock worth $15,768,284 in the last ninety days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Annapolis Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter worth $27,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at $29,000. Stephens Consulting LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Founders Capital Management lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 50.0% during the 2nd quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 75 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. 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.