Zacks Research Has Bullish Forecast for VRTX Q1 Earnings

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) - Equities researchers at Zacks Research upped their Q1 2027 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, April 9th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now forecasts that the pharmaceutical company will post earnings of $4.23 per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $4.19. The consensus estimate for Vertex Pharmaceuticals' current full-year earnings is $15.63 per share.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on VRTX. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $460.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Oppenheimer cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $512.41.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of VRTX stock traded down $13.15 on Friday, hitting $487.34. 627,634 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,322,303. The firm has a market cap of $125.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -221.52, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 2.35. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $485.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $464.76. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $377.85 and a 52 week high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%.

Institutional Trading of Vertex Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 28,325,695 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $11,406,667,000 after buying an additional 1,514,993 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,258,288 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $9,366,113,000 after acquiring an additional 98,654 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,428,951 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $4,199,713,000 after acquiring an additional 1,426,746 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.3% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,916,084 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,382,407,000 after purchasing an additional 1,117,214 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.0% in the fourth quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 3,772,789 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,519,302,000 after purchasing an additional 704,575 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $1,615,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at $13,256,000. The trade was a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total transaction of $111,034.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 67,695 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,805,286.70. This represents a 0.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012. Corporate insiders own 0.20% 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.