Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Given New $586.00 Price Target at UBS Group

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) had its price objective hoisted by equities researchers at UBS Group from $562.00 to $586.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the pharmaceutical company’s stock. UBS Group’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 17.77% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $473.00 to $476.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $451.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $494.38.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

VRTX traded up $24.76 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $497.56. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 779,042 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,165,463. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $474.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $466.02. The company has a current ratio of 2.52, a quick ratio of 2.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $341.90 and a 12 month high of $510.64. The stock has a market cap of $128.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -245.10 and a beta of 0.39.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.61 by $0.77. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.74% and a negative return on equity of 2.45%. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.67 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -2.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total value of $1,888,216.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 9,994 shares in the company, valued at $4,987,006. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the 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 represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total transaction of $1,888,216.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 9,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,987,006. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 6,710 shares of company stock valued at $3,298,206 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 25,567,184 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $10,687,339,000 after purchasing an additional 3,761,414 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,676,518 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $9,479,011,000 after buying an additional 394,338 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 61.0% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,743,882 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,401,000,000 after acquiring an additional 2,176,218 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 10.4% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,584,315 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,080,296,000 after acquiring an additional 244,336 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,422,677 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,135,556,000 after buying an additional 29,104 shares in the last quarter. 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.