Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Earns “Overweight” Rating from Cantor Fitzgerald

Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed their overweight rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) in a research note published on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. Cantor Fitzgerald currently has a $480.00 target price on the pharmaceutical company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on VRTX. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $462.00 to $474.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. HC Wainwright boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Barclays downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and increased their target price for the stock from $472.00 to $509.00 in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $535.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a hold rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $486.95.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $476.15 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $122.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.90 and a beta of 0.40. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $341.90 and a 12-month high of $510.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 2.52 and a quick ratio of 2.26. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $474.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $456.52.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,280 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $476.75, for a total transaction of $1,086,990.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 23,259 shares in the company, valued at $11,088,728.25. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Reshma Kewalramani sold 15,202 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $497.00, for a total value of $7,555,394.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 106,172 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,767,484. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,280 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $476.75, for a total transaction of $1,086,990.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 23,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,088,728.25. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 29,487 shares of company stock worth $14,657,149 over the last ninety days. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vertex Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Regal Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.2% during the 4th quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,932 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $786,000 after buying an additional 797 shares during the last quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,092,000. Ethic Inc. increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 17,636 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $7,176,000 after purchasing an additional 1,131 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LP raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1,383.0% during the 4th quarter. Caxton Associates LP now owns 76,803 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $31,250,000 after purchasing an additional 71,624 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LM Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $310,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

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.