William Blair Reiterates Outperform Rating for Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX)

William Blair reissued their outperform rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) in a report published on Monday morning,RTT News reports.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on VRTX. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $522.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $566.00 to $520.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $509.00 to $418.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $555.00 to $460.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, eighteen have issued 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 a consensus target price of $490.38.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $413.37 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $447.69 and a 200 day moving average of $467.53. The company has a quick ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a market capitalization of $106.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -207.72 and a beta of 0.40. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $377.85 and a 52 week high of $519.88.

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 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 firm had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.67 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $662,000. Czech National Bank increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 55,838 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $22,486,000 after purchasing an additional 3,260 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.3% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 79,117 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $37,084,000 after purchasing an additional 3,998 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 289.0% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 77,393 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $35,994,000 after buying an additional 57,497 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 19.4% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 342,429 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $137,783,000 after acquiring an additional 55,739 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

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.