Bank of America Increases Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Price Target to $567.00

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) had its price target hoisted by Bank of America from $555.00 to $567.00 in a report issued on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the pharmaceutical company's stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on VRTX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $503.00 to $500.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $407.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $408.00 to $424.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $500.00 to $550.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $509.17.

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Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.1 %

NASDAQ:VRTX traded up $0.52 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $484.01. 2,063,023 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,460,584. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $377.85 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $124.29 billion, a P/E ratio of -220.00, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $479.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $463.81.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 4.86%. As a group, research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $1,615,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at $13,256,000. This represents a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 530 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.34, for a total transaction of $251,930.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 58,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,825,928.26. The trade was a 0.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,315 shares of company stock valued at $2,121,012 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 14.2% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 11,244 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $5,229,000 after buying an additional 1,400 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.2% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 14,409 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $6,701,000 after purchasing an additional 307 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 28.7% during the third quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 2,315 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,077,000 after purchasing an additional 516 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4,913.5% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 6,668 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $3,101,000 after buying an additional 6,535 shares during the period. Finally, Beck Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Beck Capital Management LLC now owns 2,004 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $932,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.