Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $459.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Truist Financial upped 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. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $460.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $402.00 to $407.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $505.57.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $471.76 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $435.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $460.52. The company has a market cap of $121.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -214.44, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.69. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $377.85 and a one year high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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%. On average, research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 15.58 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 310 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.83, for a total value of $142,547.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 64,021 shares in the company, valued at $29,438,776.43. This represents a 0.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. ABC Arbitrage SA acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at $1,510,000. Czech National Bank boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 55,838 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $22,486,000 after purchasing an additional 3,260 shares during the period. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $662,000. Highview Capital Management LLC DE increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 5,771 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,324,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. Finally, Davidson Investment Advisors lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 26.0% in the fourth quarter. Davidson Investment Advisors now owns 61,161 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $24,630,000 after buying an additional 12,631 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.