Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Price Target Raised to $450.00 at Scotiabank

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) had its target price raised by investment analysts at Scotiabank from $433.00 to $450.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “sector perform” rating on the pharmaceutical company’s stock. Scotiabank’s price target would indicate a potential downside of 2.39% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on VRTX. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $566.00 to $520.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $490.00 to $494.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $533.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $361.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $504.63.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX traded down $8.97 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $461.00. 195,554 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,538,702. The company has a market cap of $118.72 billion, a P/E ratio of -231.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.41. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $435.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $462.13. The company has a quick ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $377.85 and a one year high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.52% and a negative return on equity of 1.91%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -1.94 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Czech National Bank increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 55,838 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $22,486,000 after acquiring an additional 3,260 shares during the period. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth $662,000. Concord Wealth Partners lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 32.6% during the 4th quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 3,508 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,413,000 after buying an additional 862 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 289.0% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 77,393 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $35,994,000 after acquiring an additional 57,497 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 19.4% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 342,429 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $137,783,000 after purchasing an additional 55,739 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

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.