HC Wainwright Reaffirms "Buy" Rating for Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reissued by equities research analysts at HC Wainwright in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $550.00 price objective on the pharmaceutical company's stock. HC Wainwright's target price indicates a potential upside of 19.86% from the stock's previous close.

VRTX has been the subject of several other research reports. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $430.00 to $433.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $490.00 to $494.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, January 31st. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $505.96.

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Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.8 %

NASDAQ:VRTX traded down $3.72 on Tuesday, reaching $458.86. The stock had a trading volume of 597,556 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,536,463. The company has a market cap of $118.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -230.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 2.20. The firm's fifty day moving average is $435.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $461.80. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $377.85 and a 12-month high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 EPS 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%. Equities analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 310 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.83, for a total value of $142,547.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 64,021 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,438,776.43. This represents a 0.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth $25,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth $27,000. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 58 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at about $33,000. 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.