Brokerages Set Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Price Target at $509.17

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-five analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, fourteen have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $512.41.

VRTX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $490.00 to $494.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $408.00 to $424.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $484.22 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $377.85 and a 12 month high of $519.88. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm has a market cap of $124.34 billion, a PE ratio of -220.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.50. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $484.84 and a 200-day moving average of $464.28.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 4.86%. On average, equities analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $1,615,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at $13,256,000. This represents a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total transaction of $111,034.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 67,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,805,286.70. The trade was a 0.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 15,211 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $7,375,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. City State Bank boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 746.2% in the first quarter. City State Bank now owns 110 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 12.6% in the first quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 1,114 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $540,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 27.5% in the first quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 187,576 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $90,941,000 after acquiring an additional 40,427 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Impact Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 10.3% in the 1st quarter. Impact Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,476 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,200,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.