Oppenheimer Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Stock Price

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) had its target price reduced by Oppenheimer from $550.00 to $540.00 in a research report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. Oppenheimer currently has an outperform rating on the pharmaceutical company's stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $431.00 to $425.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 4th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, July 26th. Barclays lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and increased their price target for the company from $472.00 to $509.00 in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Scotiabank assumed coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. They set a "sector perform" rating and a $480.00 price objective for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $492.50.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX stock traded up $4.72 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $475.08. The stock had a trading volume of 719,003 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,165,004. The firm has a market cap of $122.62 billion, a PE ratio of -233.63 and a beta of 0.40. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $475.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $463.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 2.52 and a quick ratio of 2.26. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $341.90 and a fifty-two week high of $510.64.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported ($12.83) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($12.54) by ($0.29). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.45% and a negative net margin of 4.74%. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.66 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.53 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -2.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $323,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,435 shares in the company, valued at $2,217,500. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 5,295 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $508.00, for a total transaction of $2,689,860.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 40,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,320,000. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $323,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,435 shares in the company, valued at $2,217,500. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 12,005 shares of company stock valued at $5,988,066. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.8% in the third quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 5,678 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,641,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 328.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 939 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $437,000 after buying an additional 720 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 56,190 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $26,133,000 after acquiring an additional 2,383 shares in the last quarter. United Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $202,000. Finally, ASB Consultores LLC raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 20.6% during the 3rd quarter. ASB Consultores LLC now owns 953 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $443,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company's stock.

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.