Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Buy

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued on Thursday.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on VRTX. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $480.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $480.00 to $486.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Raymond James restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $361.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $451.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $499.12.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $451.23 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $116.21 billion, a PE ratio of -226.75 and a beta of 0.39. 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 has a twelve month low of $346.29 and a twelve month high of $519.88. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $475.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $472.74.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total transaction of $1,888,216.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 9,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,987,006. The trade was a 27.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the business's 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,217,500. The trade was a 12.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,445 shares of company stock valued at $2,218,394 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,816,249 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $5,495,501,000 after purchasing an additional 90,173 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 18.1% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,550,386 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,581,373,000 after buying an additional 851,054 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,798,870 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,231,858,000 after purchasing an additional 704,421 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.8% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,905,705 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,351,385,000 after purchasing an additional 159,693 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 10.4% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,584,315 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,080,296,000 after purchasing an additional 244,336 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.