Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Now Covered by Analysts at Citigroup

Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) in a research note published on Thursday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $575.00 price target on the pharmaceutical company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on VRTX. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $361.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $473.00 to $476.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $510.00 to $503.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $541.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $499.12.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $465.70 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $119.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -234.02 and a beta of 0.39. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $476.39 and its 200-day moving average is $472.09. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $341.90 and a 52-week high of $519.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a current ratio of 2.47.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.77. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.69 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.52% and a negative return on equity of 1.91%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.67 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -1.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total value of $1,888,216.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 9,994 shares in the company, valued at $4,987,006. This trade represents a 27.46 % 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, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $323,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,217,500. This trade represents a 12.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Quent Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 33.0% in the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 399 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $167,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the period. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 2,364 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $988,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth about $224,000. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 14,734 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $6,159,000 after purchasing an additional 470 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 104.5% during the 1st quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 137 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.