Morgan Stanley Boosts Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Price Target to $474.00

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTXFree Report) had its price objective boosted by Morgan Stanley from $462.00 to $474.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the pharmaceutical company’s stock.

VRTX has been the subject of several other research reports. HC Wainwright increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $505.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. StockNews.com cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Truist Financial reissued a buy rating and set a $550.00 target price (up previously from $508.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $535.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $487.23.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $453.55 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $117.04 billion, a PE ratio of 29.43 and a beta of 0.40. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $477.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $455.01. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $341.90 and a 1-year high of $510.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 2.52 and a quick ratio of 2.26.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTXGet Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported ($12.83) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($12.54) by ($0.29). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.74% and a negative return on equity of 2.45%. The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.66 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.53 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 5,295 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $508.00, for a total transaction of $2,689,860.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,320,000. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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 sale, the director now owns 4,435 shares in the company, valued at $2,217,500. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 5,295 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $508.00, for a total value of $2,689,860.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 40,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,320,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 31,767 shares of company stock valued at $15,768,284 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Focus Financial Network Inc. ADV acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $245,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 20.8% during the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 1,787 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $727,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the period. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 1,333 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $542,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Belpointe Asset Management LLC increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 729 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $297,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Lake Street Advisors Group LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $564,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

(Get Free Report)

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.

See Also

Analyst Recommendations for Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX)

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