StockNews.com Upgrades Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) to Strong-Buy

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report released on Wednesday.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $480.00 to $486.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $562.00 to $586.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $541.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $495.96.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.9 %

NASDAQ VRTX traded up $4.61 on Wednesday, reaching $494.61. The company had a trading volume of 963,206 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,172,864. The stock's 50 day moving average is $475.81 and its 200-day moving average is $470.31. The stock has a market cap of $127.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -248.55 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $341.90 and a 52 week high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.69 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 1.91% and a negative net margin of 4.52%. The firm's revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.67 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -1.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total value of $1,888,216.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 9,994 shares in the company, valued at $4,987,006. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $323,000.00. Following the sale, the director now 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total value of $1,888,216.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 9,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,987,006. This trade 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.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. Quent Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 33.0% during the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 399 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $167,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 14.6% during the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 6,338 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,649,000 after buying an additional 808 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 10.8% during the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 70,911 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $29,642,000 after buying an additional 6,937 shares in the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.5% during the first quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 2,364 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $988,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GM Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth approximately $224,000. 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.