Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Price Target Raised to $407.00

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) had its target price upped by Royal Bank of Canada from $402.00 to $407.00 in a research note released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has a sector perform rating on the pharmaceutical company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $361.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Oppenheimer downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $503.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $500.00 to $550.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $505.29.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 3.1 %

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $455.22 on Tuesday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $377.85 and a 12 month high of $519.88. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $435.95 and a 200-day moving average of $462.13. The company has a market cap of $117.23 billion, a PE ratio of -228.75, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.41.

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 1.91% and a negative net margin of 4.52%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Vertex Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Czech National Bank raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 55,838 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $22,486,000 after purchasing an additional 3,260 shares in the last quarter. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at $662,000. Concord Wealth Partners raised its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 289.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 77,393 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $35,994,000 after buying an additional 57,497 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 19.4% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 342,429 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $137,783,000 after buying an additional 55,739 shares in 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.