Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-six ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twenty have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $522.6842.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on VRTX. Royal Bank Of Canada raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $455.00 to $546.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Morgan Stanley set a $564.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $455.00 to $445.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $548.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $474.99, for a total transaction of $2,137,455.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 42,293 shares in the company, valued at $20,088,752.07. This represents a 9.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Charles F. Wagner, Jr. sold 9,532 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $461.00, for a total transaction of $4,394,252.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 37,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,391,225. The trade was a 20.17% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 165,105 shares of company stock worth $73,858,523. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.0% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,216,865 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $9,484,293,000 after acquiring an additional 243,088 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 16,553,281 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $6,482,978,000 after purchasing an additional 444,990 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.5% during the 2nd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 6,151,505 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,738,650,000 after purchasing an additional 1,089,063 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,928,747 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,627,135,000 after purchasing an additional 166,987 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 77.9% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,689,059 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,836,550,000 after purchasing an additional 2,053,156 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $470.87 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $458.54 and a 200 day moving average of $427.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $119.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.21 and a beta of 0.30. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $362.50 and a fifty-two week high of $519.68.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc is a Boston-based biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of therapies for serious diseases. Founded in 1989, Vertex built its reputation on research-driven drug development and is best known for its work in cystic fibrosis (CF), where its portfolio of small-molecule CFTR modulators transformed standards of care for many people with the disease. The company operates research and development, manufacturing and commercial organizations and serves patients and healthcare systems in multiple international markets.

Vertex’s marketed products center on CFTR modulators that target the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis rather than just treating symptoms.