Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Upgraded at Oppenheimer

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) was upgraded by analysts at Oppenheimer from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note issued on Friday, Marketbeat reports. The firm presently has a $540.00 price target on the pharmaceutical company’s stock. Oppenheimer’s price target suggests a potential upside of 16.12% from the company’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. UBS Group boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $545.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Evercore increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $475.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $455.00 to $546.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $548.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $525.55.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $465.02 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $117.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.79 and a beta of 0.30. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $459.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $427.55. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $362.50 and a fifty-two week high of $519.68.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The pharmaceutical company reported $5.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.05 by ($0.02). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.51% and a net margin of 31.35%.The firm had revenue of $3.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.98 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 466 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.43, for a total value of $214,560.38. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 51,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,682,677.48. The trade was a 0.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jonathan Biller sold 1,925 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.43, for a total transaction of $886,327.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 20,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,585,692.17. This trade represents a 8.46% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 99,352 shares of company stock valued at $45,037,314 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Access Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Swiss RE Ltd. bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Chesapeake Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 110.0% in the third quarter. Chesapeake Asset Management LLC now owns 63 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Vertex Pharmaceuticals News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Revenue and product momentum — Vertex reported Q4 revenue of ~$3.19B (≈+9.5% YoY), which many outlets framed as a beat or in-line with expectations and supports confidence in its CF franchise and near-term cash flow. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst backing and long-term targets — Several analysts maintain bullish ratings and above-current price targets (median targets well above the share price), which provides longer-term upside support for the stock.
• Positive Sentiment: Pipeline diversification — Company commentary and reporting highlighted partnership/expansion efforts (broader autoimmune work) that could reduce concentration risk over time. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: 2026 guidance roughly in-line — Management’s revenue guidance (~$13.0–13.1B) came in close to consensus, which limits downside from surprise guidance but doesn’t materially raise expectations. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Full materials available — Investors can review the earnings slide deck and call transcript for details on product and pipeline trends to refine estimates. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Small EPS miss and mixed metric comparisons — EPS came in marginally below consensus (~$5.03 vs. ~$5.05–$5.07) and some feeds showed revenue slightly under certain Street models, prompting short-term selling pressure. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling — Multiple senior executives (EVPs and the CAO) disclosed sizeable open-market sales this week, which can amplify negative sentiment even if sales are for diversification or tax planning. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: After-hours weakness — The combination of the small EPS miss and the insider selling pushed shares lower in after-hours trading, reflecting short-term profit-taking by traders. Read More.

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.