Truist Financial Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Stock

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) had its price target hoisted by Truist Financial from $460.00 to $520.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the pharmaceutical company’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on VRTX. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $522.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $490.00 to $494.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $533.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $562.00 to $586.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Ten research 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.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $505.96.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 2.1 %

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $462.58 on Tuesday. 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 market capitalization of $119.13 billion, a PE ratio of -232.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.41. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $435.70 and its 200 day moving average is $461.79. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $377.85 and a 12 month high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings data 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -1.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 310 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.83, for a total value of $142,547.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 64,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,438,776.43. The trade was a 0.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 30.1% in the fourth quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 369,354 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $148,739,000 after purchasing an additional 85,350 shares during the last quarter. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth $1,505,000. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC now owns 60,864 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $24,510,000 after purchasing an additional 1,094 shares during the last quarter. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth $211,000. Finally, Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth $1,216,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.