Wells Fargo & Company Cuts Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Price Target to $460.00

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) had its price target decreased by Wells Fargo & Company from $555.00 to $460.00 in a research report report published on Friday,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the pharmaceutical company’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $500.00 to $550.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $566.00 to $520.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. Raymond James reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays lowered their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $509.00 to $418.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $490.38.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $409.56 on Friday. 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 has a 52-week low of $377.85 and a 52-week high of $519.88. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $448.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $467.95. The firm has a market cap of $105.47 billion, a P/E ratio of -205.81 and a beta of 0.40.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.61 by $0.77. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 1.91% and a negative net margin of 4.52%. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.69 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.67 EPS. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 58 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.