Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Gap Up on Analyst Upgrade

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Friday after Scotiabank raised their price target on the stock from $430.00 to $433.00. The stock had previously closed at $438.40, but opened at $454.17. Scotiabank currently has a sector perform rating on the stock. Vertex Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $466.54, with a volume of 393,072 shares traded.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $509.00 to $418.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, November 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $575.00 price objective on the stock. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $460.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $502.58.

Institutional Trading of Vertex Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VRTX. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 58 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $118.90 billion, a PE ratio of -232.00, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a current ratio of 2.47. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $434.34 and its 200-day moving average is $463.31.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.77. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.52% and a negative return on equity of 1.91%. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.67 EPS. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.