Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Earns Buy Rating from Analysts at Citigroup

Citigroup began coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) in a report published on Thursday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $575.00 price target on the pharmaceutical company's stock.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $361.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $451.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $562.00 to $586.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Raymond James restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $510.00 to $503.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $499.12.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock traded down $5.73 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $488.88. 442,535 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,169,573. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $341.90 and a 52-week high of $519.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $125.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -248.55 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a fifty day moving average of $476.13 and a 200-day moving average of $470.48. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.77. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.69 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 1.91% and a negative net margin of 4.52%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.67 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -1.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,435 shares in the company, valued at $2,217,500. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company's stock, valued at $2,217,500. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total transaction of $1,888,216.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 9,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,987,006. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 14,409 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $6,701,000 after purchasing an additional 307 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.6% during the third quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 7,558 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $3,515,000 after buying an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,403 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,118,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,544 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,648,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Finally, Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 10.8% during the third quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 26,640 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $12,390,000 after purchasing an additional 2,596 shares during the period. 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.