Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $533.67 and last traded at $522.25, with a volume of 2292484 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $529.59.

Key Vertex Pharmaceuticals News

Here are the key news stories impacting Vertex Pharmaceuticals this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Vertex’s $10 billion acquisition of Crinetics could accelerate growth beyond cystic fibrosis by adding a marketed endocrine drug and a late-stage pipeline candidate. Vertex (VRTX) Is Buying Crinetics For $10 Billion And Entering Endocrinology
• Positive Sentiment: The FDA’s expanded approval for CASGEVY in children as young as 2 years old strengthens Vertex’s gene-therapy franchise and could widen the product’s commercial reach. Vertex (VRTX) is One of the Best QQQ Stocks to Invest in
• Neutral Sentiment: Some reports note that investors are balancing the growth potential of the Crinetics deal against integration risk and the size of the cash outlay. Vertex’s Crinetics Deal Balances Growth with Integration Risk
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent executive stock sales were disclosed under pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans, which may create headline noise but do not necessarily signal a change in fundamentals. Ourania Tatsis Sells 1,500 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst coverage remains broadly supportive, with most firms maintaining Buy ratings and high price targets, though one recent downgrade to Hold adds a bit of caution. Citi Remains a Buy on Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX)

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on VRTX shares. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $607.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $542.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $436.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $543.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Twenty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $557.09.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.4%

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $455.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $458.14. The stock has a market cap of $126.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.45, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.29.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.99 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.86% and a net margin of 35.51%.Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.06 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 318 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.73, for a total transaction of $134,746.14. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,086,446.52. This trade represents a 6.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 1,541 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $519.00, for a total transaction of $799,779.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 11,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,709,519. The trade was a 12.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 18,874 shares of company stock worth $8,707,966. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Danske Bank A S bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $64,417,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.8% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 447,169 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $202,612,000 after acquiring an additional 86,084 shares during the period. Cooper Financial Group lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 130.2% during the fourth quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 5,341 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,421,000 after acquiring an additional 3,021 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 832,853 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $377,582,000 after acquiring an additional 69,150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 414.1% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 14,036 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $6,363,000 after acquiring an additional 11,306 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.