Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Reaches New 52-Week High - Time to Buy?

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $510.70 and last traded at $510.38, with a volume of 42505 shares. The stock had previously closed at $502.45.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on VRTX. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $562.00 to $586.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $480.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday. Barclays lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $472.00 to $509.00 in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $473.00 to $476.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $495.96.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $133.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -259.67 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 2.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $475.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $468.01.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.77. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 1.91% and a negative net margin of 4.52%. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.67 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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 owns 4,435 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,217,500. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $323,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,435 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,217,500. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total value of $1,888,216.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 9,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,987,006. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 25,567,184 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $10,687,339,000 after acquiring an additional 3,761,414 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,676,518 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $9,479,011,000 after purchasing an additional 394,338 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 61.0% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,743,882 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,401,000,000 after purchasing an additional 2,176,218 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 18.1% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,550,386 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,581,373,000 after purchasing an additional 851,054 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 10.4% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,584,315 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,080,296,000 after buying an additional 244,336 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.